The Broken House of Taisho
by RosieB
Summary: Sequel to The Broken Miko! Kagome and Sesshoumaru thought they left their troubled past behind them, but a whole new problem disturbs their new life. Last chapter: Life begins again. COMPLETE!
1. Youkai Blood

A/N: This is the sequel to _The Broken Miko_. It won't be nearly as long – I'm planning on about 6 chapters, so that I can concentrate on my other story, _Thousandfurs_. I suppose that you can read this alone, but there are many references to the previous story, so I strongly suggest that you read it. Plus, I think it's rather good. That's just me of course. Haha. I hope you enjoy the story!

The Broken House of Taisho

Chapter 1: Youkai Blood

Kagome sang tunelessly as she walked out of her bedroom, pinning up her black hair with a golden barrette. She stopped in front of the hallway mirror and smoothed her tresses over the crown of her head. It was always a bother to get it just right where the concealment spell hid her demon dog ears.

Straightening the lapel of her gray pinstripe suit, she heard the splat of wet food hitting the wall in the next room and a wail of defeat. Sighing, Kagome turned on her heel and walked into the spacious kitchen. "What's wrong, Midori?"

Her daughter spun around and glared at her mother. "She just took the spoon from me and flung her perfectly good apple sauce across the room!" She glared at the little creature in the high chair. "She does this purposely when I'm feeding her, just to get me annoyed, I swear!"

Kagome laughed as her youngest daughter, the four month old Satu, gurgled. "Oh, of course she doesn't. She's just playing a bit. You need to watch her more closely. I'll feed her, if you would prefer that."

"I can handle it, I can handle it," muttered the girl, walking over with a sponge to clean up the mess, while Satu dipped her little fingers into the apple sauce. She studied each handful with her big golden eyes before shoving it into her mouth, smearing it across her face. She had even managed to get it on the scarlet crescent moon on her forehead.

"You do good by your sister," said Kagome with a smile. "I'm glad you get along."

Midori shrugged as she threw the wet sponge into the sink. "Yeah, well, she is my sister I guess. She's not too bad, even if all she does is eat, cry, sleep and poop."

"She'll get more interesting as she gets older. Children do that." She winked at the girl. "Although we're still waiting on you."

Kagome's middle daughter scowled. "Har har har. Where's Dad? He doesn't make fun of me."

"True," agreed the hanyou, "but your father doesn't have much of sense of humor to begin with." Satu gurgled again and Kagome smiled at her. "No, he really doesn't, baby girl. But we still love him, don't we?" She kissed her sauce-faced daughter on the cheek and went to the refrigerator to pull out some bread.

"Why are you so happy?" asked Midori with a suspicious look. "You're not pregnant again are you? Cause once was enough!"

Kagome laughed again. "You know, I had two before Satu. And no, I'm not pregnant again. I'm happy because I finally get to go back to work today."

Midori grimaced. "You're happy about going back to work? I still don't get that about you and Dad. I mean, you did a lot of your paperwork while you were home. Now you just get to do it in your office again!"

"Mom's just happy she doesn't have to deal with you anymore, Midi," drawled Daichi as he lounged in, wearing his ever-present pajamas.

"Deal with _me_?" echoed his indignant sister. The use of her hated nickname always riled her up a few more notches than necessary. "You're the one that does nothing around the house. At least I go to school! I'm out of her hair, unlike you, you lazy bum."

"At least I'm not some little brat, prancing around giving our father advice about how to improve his biotechnology in the business that he built from scratch. _Without_ your help, I might add."

"You're just jealous that I have two brain cells to rub together!"

Kagome rubbed her temples as the fight escalated. It figured that the moment Satu was quiet, the other two would start. She began to miss her two eldest but non-biological children. Rin and Washi, when they had lived at home, had always been the ones to break up fights. Growing up with a distinctly sterner Sesshoumaru had ingrained the value of quiet into their characters. Daichi and Midori hadn't had such training.

Just as she was beginning to think that Sesshoumaru had become soft in his old age, he came into the room with his golden eyes lit on fire. "Silence, you two ungrateful whelps!" he snapped, in a hushed but furious tone. He glared at them as they immediately fell quiet. "Your mother does not need your squabbling today."

"Yes, Father," they murmured.

"Midori, go and get prepared for school. Daichi, I expect you to be dressed for the office in twenty minutes' time." He looked at his children carefully, appearing more imposing in his black suit and severe tie than usual. They walked out past him, not even letting their footsteps make too much noise.

Kagome waited until her concealed ears could no longer hear her children. "You don't have to be so hard on them. They're just children and they weren't bothering me too much."

"We didn't have such trouble from Rin and Washi," he replied, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

The hanyou placed her toast on a small plate and brought it to the table with some last remnants of butter. "We certainly did, just in different ways," reminded Kagome.

"Perhaps, but Daichi at least should know better. He's five hundred years old."

"They're siblings. They'll always fight. Rin and Washi do it too, but they fight out of our earshot."

He arched an eyebrow. "When Daichi and Midori learn to do the same, then we will know that they have matured into adults." Only receiving a shrug from his mate, Sesshoumaru drained his mug with one movement and put it in the sink. Striding over to his youngest daughter, he wiped her face, removed her bib and lifted her into his arms. "Is Ruri here yet?"

"No," replied Kagome. "It was nice of her, really, to offer to take care of Satu for a bit during the day, while we look for a nanny."

"She wants her own pup," observed Sesshoumaru.

His mate looked down at her toast. "Desperately. I felt guilty being pregnant around her."

"She's been without mate for five hundred years."

"She's been without _love_ for five hundred years," corrected Kagome. "She would never have a child with someone she doesn't love."

He made a little sound of disapproval. "A foolish action."

Kagome stood up. "Why? It's not like there's so many more female than male youkai. She can choose a mate when she sees fit."

"Ruri is not getting any younger. Although the numbers haven't changed, the competition has. If she waits too long, she will be competing with Midori. And I believe that Midori will win that particular contest."

She smirked at him. "That sounds a lot like fatherly pride."

Sesshoumaru held up his baby and looked at her chubby face. "My daughters will not be rejected by any male. If they are, I will ignore your rules of human etiquette and gut the males in their own homes."

"Somehow, I don't doubt you," Kagome replied with a roll of her eyes. "Ruri will be fine, I'm sure. She's a famous architect who meets many eligible men every day. She can take care of herself." As she spoke, the doorbell chimed. She looked up at the large, modernist clock on the wall. "Speak of the devil. Time to go!" she said, almost squealing.

Father and daughter looked at each other. "Your mother has a history of mental instability," he told Satu. Kagome stuck her tongue out at him from across the room. "You have been spending too much time with the children," he added as the scowling hanyou went to answer the door.

"Ruri!" she exclaimed happily when she opened the door.

The skunk demoness, laden with scrolls of blueprints and a sizeable briefcase, smiled weakly. "Morning, Kagome. My, you're cheery."

"Fortunately, she is not always like this," intoned Sesshoumaru from the kitchen door. "Good morning, Ruri-san. Would you like some coffee?"

Ruri's eyes widened in appreciation. "I'd kill for some. My damn coffee-maker finally quit on me this morning." She turned to Kagome as she set down her things on the entryway table. "Do I look like the night of the living dead?"

"No," replied the hanyou truthfully. "You will though, after a day with Satu. You're sure you're okay with this? I really appreciate it but I could always call Kaori or my mother."

The youkai shook her head. "Oh no. I'll enjoy it. And if it really gets tough, I do have Kaori's number." She smiled as they headed into the kitchen, where Satu was back in her now clean high chair again. "Hi, little one," she cooed as she picked her up. Kagome tilted her head and watched Satu grasp a fistful of Ruri's beautiful black and white streaked hair.

"Reconsidering your decision to leave Satu?" Sesshoumaru murmured from her shoulder.

His mate smiled up at him. "It's always hard to leave them the first time, I guess. It'll get easier."

Midori slid into the room. "Mom, I'm leaving. Oh, hi Aunt Ruri!" she greeted. Ruri's streaked hair looked so much like her own silver and black tresses that Midori felt quite a kinship with her honorary relative. When they went out together, everyone would assume that she was Ruri's child, not Kagome's. Kagome, for her part, was grateful that her middle daughter had such an excellent mentor.

"Hi, Midori. Off to school?"

"Yeah, I gotta go or I'll be late. I'll be home at three though, and I can help with Satu." She waved at her little sister. "Bye!"

Kagome listened to her daughter run down the hall and slam the door behind her. "I think that's our cue to leave too. Where's Daichi?"

"Right here," muttered a sullen, but smartly dressed, dog demon.

"Alright. Goodbye, sweetheart." Kagome leaned over to kiss her baby on her forehead. She stepped back to let Sesshoumaru give his customary head pat to their daughter. "Bye, Ruri. Thanks again!" she called as they grabbed their briefcases and went out the door.

Daichi glared at his own briefcase before jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Ten bucks says Aunt Ruri has a nervous breakdown before noon."

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Kagome squeezed her mate's arm as the elevator ticked off the floors as they passed by. "I know I should miss Satu, and I do, but I'm so happy to be back."

"I'm not," groused Daichi. "And I don't see why you are, Mom. You just have to deal with that awful Machi and her company. Gouken International isn't going quietly, you know. They want to merge with us, not get gutted from the inside out. It's been over a year and it's still not over."

"Well, aren't we the optimistic one?" teased his mother. "I have more than enough energy to deal with Machi and that sinking ship of a company of hers."

Daichi just shrugged. "It's even got Rin down. She kept complaining about all those scientists from Gouken hovering about, trying to gain her favor. They know she's ultimately the one to decide which ones stay and which ones go."

"It seems," Sesshoumaru said evenly, "that she has not complained for many months."

"Yeah well, she's a bit preoccupied, isn't she?" snickered the boy.

Kagome turned with a raised eyebrow. "What are you saying? What could possibly occupy Rin's mind besides her work? She's obsessed with it."

"Rin's gotten herself a boy toy. Haven't you heard?"

"Don't be crude, Daichi. And I don't believe you. We would have smelled it on her," Kagome reminded him. She eyed him carefully. "Who is it?"

Her son smiled easily. "She wouldn't tell me. Sorry, Mom, but you're going to have to drag it out of her yourself. I tried when I figured it out. She was being very forgetful and ditzy one day when I visited her and it was like trying to get answers from the dead. But I got enough to know that it's a new thing and she's positively giddy over it. Kinda gross actually. Not used to her being such a flake."

Kagome grinned and looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Rin in love! Isn't that wonderful?"

"No."

The hanyou ignored his annoyance. "I haven't spoken to her about her romantic life for quite some time. She doesn't like it when I bring it up. I suppose I will have to break that particular rule."

"Don't pester her too much, Mom," sighed Daichi.

"The first of my children to fall in love, though!" she argued. "I'm in no hurry to have grandchildren. Just the thought makes me feel old, but I do want my children to be happy. To tell the truth, I've been most worried about Rin. She's so much more buried in her work than you or Washi. A girl has more trouble finding a good mate when she's quiet like Rin."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes as Kagome gushed. "The children will all find mates in due time. Even Rin, our eldest, is only just over five hundred years old. She is still young."

"You were only seven hundred when you took me as your mate," reminded Kagome. "I was only nineteen. Really, I'm just a few years older than Rin."

Daichi blanched. "Don't put it like that, Mom. That sounds so gross."

"Agreed," murmured Sesshoumaru. "However, you forget that the situations are different. You spent nineteen years as a human. You lived a fourth of your life and matured as a youkai would after centuries. Rin was still a child when she became immortal."

Their son looked a bit mollified. "Right. Well anyway, I still say that you shouldn't bug Rin about it. She'll tell you when she wants to." The elevator chimed and the doors opened on the fifty-ninth floor, to the lobby of the marketing division. "Bye Mom, Pop."

Kagome waved as the doors closed to carry them to the top floor. "I think we'll actually end up being early," mentioned the hanyou, glancing at her watch.

"Good. Emiko and Sakura both stayed late on Friday, even after I left. It will do us good to appear before them."

"You've been leaving the office early a lot in the past four or five months," Kagome recalled. "Our assistants have been almost doing our jobs."

Sesshoumaru looked at her with his golden eyes. "Something that will change, now that you have returned in good health."

"Even so, so many overtime hours and such dedication for so long. You know what that means, Sesshoumaru."

He scowled. "Knowing your significant generosity towards your underlings, I would imagine that you want to give them a raise, or something of the kind."

"It's well deserved, my mate," she reminded him. "Do you really want to train another assistant? Especially so late in the quarter?"

A heavy growl emanated from his throat. "Give them the raise."

Kagome was about to respond when Sesshoumaru's head jerked. "What is it?"

Then she smelled it. A scent she hadn't smelled in years, not in any great quantity. Over the centuries, she had become accustomed to it, even able to block it out like Sesshoumaru, but it still surprised her each time. The coppery scent of blood. She could almost see its scarlet drops when the stink reached her nose. This time it was stale and putrid, as if the stench had been there for days.

"Oh my God," whispered the hanyou, watching the numbers light up, as they finally reached the top floor, the nexus of control for Tenseiga Corporation. The few seconds it took for the elevator to slow down and stop were agonizing. She was ready to claw apart the doors when they finally chimed.

When they did slide open, Kagome raced forward to the reception desk, where major clients were greeted and calls were directed. A large gold sign giving the name of the company was now smeared with blood. Darting around the desk, Kagome saw that the secretary, who had only been hired three days before she left on maternity leave and whose name she had never even learned, was lying in a pool of sticky blood. It had soaked deep into the berber carpet.

"She's been here since Friday," murmured Sesshoumaru, almost making Kagome jump.

She didn't answer, but ran down the hall to her corner office, barely registering that Sesshoumaru had walked the other way, to his own. The entryway to her sizeable room had a well-situated desk in front of it, where Emiko normally turned away unwanted visitors. Now, the fire demoness was lying in the center of badly burned carpet and her own blood. Like the secretary in the lobby, it was drying out.

A moment of processing the sight, and Kagome found herself screaming. It brought Sesshoumaru running, but he halted when he found only his mate and a corpse. "Sakura is dead as well. Some of the floor is nearly burned through with her acid in some places. She put up a brave fight. The cleaning crew was not so fortunate. Six bodies in all." He paused and looked down at Emiko's body. "You have seen death before."

Kagome turned and although there were no tears in her eyes, she had an expression of deep sorrow. "She was my friend, Sesshoumaru. So was Sakura. I'm not used to that, especially in this time and place. We were doing so well! We were so happy and now this!" She scowled and fisted her hands. "That harpy will pay for this!"

"And what harpy would you be referring to, my mate?"

The hanyou pulled out her cell phone and angrily dialed the emergency services. "Machi, of course!" She turned away. "Yes, it's Kagome Taisho at the top floor of Tenseiga Corporation… We need the police… People have been killed… We just got here… No, of course we haven't touched anything…" She shot an angry look at Sesshoumaru as he bent over the body of her assistant. "Please hurry." She snapped the phone closed.

The two demons stood in silence, looking at the carnage that had been wrought. Papers were everywhere, many of them soaked in blood. Kagome noticed for the first time that the door to her office was open. The inside looked like it had been ripped apart as well.

"We need to leave. The police won't like us being in the crime scene. They'll think we've touched something." Her voice was flat as she turned and went back to the elevator. She carefully avoided looking at the corpses. "Wait. We can't leave. We can't leave them. I mean, they were all alone all weekend."

Sesshoumaru looked at his mate carefully. "Kagome," he said slowly. "They are dead."

"I know that," she snapped. "I'm not going crazy. That was five hundred years ago. I just… can't leave them. They were my friends."

"Machi did not do this, Kagome."

She stared at him. "How could you know that?"

He pointed at the dead body behind the desk. Only her foot was visible, although still surrounded by blood. "What youkai do you know uses a firearm? Whenever we have murders in our little community, it is by our hands or swords. No self-respecting youkai takes a gun against another."

"Who said that Machi was a self-respecting youkai? Guns could have been used to throw us off the trail."

He considered this for a moment. "Perhaps, but I still do not believe Machi had anything to do with this. Our offices were torn apart, but I could not see that anything was missing. Machi would have taken all of our files pertaining to the takeover. Also, I do not smell her scent. She has not been here herself and she is not trusting enough to give this job to a hired professional."

Kagome leaned against the wall, covering her eyes. "I have to admit. This doesn't look like any youkai killing I've seen in my life. But what human has the power to kill two powerful demons like Emiko and Sakura and not bleed themselves? I only smell their blood, nothing of the killers'. Even Sango wouldn't have escaped this battle unscathed."

"We should wait for the Demon Squad," murmured Sesshoumaru, using the nickname of the local law enforcement team used for crimes involving youkai. Its real name was the Elite Citizen Task Force, a name that human bureaucrats had created. Staffed by both demons and humans, the detectives were the most capable of the police force, in order to deal with the intricacies of youkai crime. As high members of demon society, anything involving the Tenseiga Corporation founders would immediately be handed over to them.

"I know," murmured Kagome. "But I can't remember the last time so many youkai have been killed at once when it wasn't battle. Especially by a human, if you're right."

Sesshoumaru shrugged, straining to listen for sirens through the thick walls. It was futile. Even he could never hear a siren so many floors below their position, but it distracted him from the scent of blood.

"But we have no human enemies," Kagome said suddenly. "Except for my family, we barely talk to any."

"I am sure we have some, although they may not be known to us. We must wait for the police," he reiterated.

She wasn't accustomed to her mate so easily giving authority to anyone else. It angered her, that he wasn't tearing down the walls, demanding who had committed these horrible murders. She wanted to know. _She_ was ready to tear down the walls. She would do it, if her legs didn't feel like jelly, if her arms weren't leaden.

How could she be so affected? As Sesshoumaru had pointed out, she had seen death before. And she had seen the death of friends. It amazed her every day that they had made it five hundred years without losing any of her nearest and dearest.

The fact was that she had been lured into a false sense of security. No, that was wrong. She had _allowed_ herself to fall into that trap. Once she had passed the Second World War, Kagome had just settled into a life of being co-founder of Tenseiga Corp. and the mother of three almost grown children. Midori had been a welcome upset to that balance, another piece of the puzzle of her life that just made it that much better. Satu, whom they had agreed would be the last of their children, was the completion of her destiny as she saw it. She believed it was heaven and she wasn't going to look around and remind herself that it was anything less in reality.

The elevator chimed its arrival and the doors opened to reveal Detective Ito, the officer who had taken Kagome's case when her car had been vandalized with demon slurs seven years before. Five hundred years ago, he was just a common foot soldier in Makoto's Northern Army, one of the few non-celestials. Now, he was the second in command of the Demon Squad and greatly respected among the demon community. It was unusual to see a forest demon take up a weapon, but Kagome expected that it was his natural drive to protect others.

"Mr. Taisho. Mrs. Taisho," he greeted with them with a nod. He was stony-faced, but Kagome couldn't blame him. Youkai killings were rare and a major hassle. He looked out across the lobby and sniffed the air, determining exactly where the corpses were on the floor. "Wait here, please. I'll have questions for you when I'm done."

The police squad fanned out, immediately taking out their yellow tape and marking off most of the floor. Forensic specialists crouched over the secretary's body while a photographer snapped shots from every conceivable angle. Others clustered around Ito, murmuring in soft tones as he moved about the offices, checking every one.

"Is anything missing?" he called back to the pair.

"We don't know," admitted Kagome. "Probably. Our offices look like a tornado has been through."

"And nobody has come in this entire weekend?" he asked, taking one look at the deeply set bloodstain on the carpet.

"Well, no, I don't think so. Usually, Sesshoumaru or I come in to get some work done but we've been busy with the new baby. The cleaning crew comes in on Friday evenings. They normally get to this floor around eight." Kagome hugged herself. Ito had a way of questioning that never sounded like interrogation, but also reminded the subject that they were not off the list of suspects until he said so.

Ito wandered off for a few moments, looking in on all the other bodies, and came back with a determined expression. "We'll be closing down this floor for a few days, Sesshoumaru-sama. Work can continue on other floors, although we may be questioning a few of your employees, but we need to go over the entire floor. Neither of you touched anything, correct?"

"No, we didn't," Kagome answered for both of them.

"Alright," he said, taking out a small notebook. "Just a few questions and then I'll let you go for now. Does this floor have security cameras? I didn't see any when I walked the halls."

Sesshoumaru pointed to where the ceiling met the walls. "Several. We use the type of camera used in surgery, with a bud tip. Very small and very undetectable. It is on a separate power line as well." He looked evenly at Ito. "But anyone that can kill both a fire and snake youkai without raising the alarm would certainly have thought of that. Our system is monitored constantly."

"Hmm." Ito turned back to one of his followers. "Go check on the security guard. Get any tapes of Friday and the weekend that they have for this floor, the first floor and elevator shots." He faced the couple again. "Do you have any enemies?"

"In business, many. But I cannot think of any who would be so bold to risk everything for a few of my secrets. My daughter's department of biomedical research, or the biotechnology floors would be much more likely to be sacked of company secrets." He saw the question coming and stopped Ito. "Three of my children work here as well. I saw the two that do not live with us yesterday and Rin always is early. She would have alerted me if anything was amiss."

Ito wrote this down, scribbling furiously. "I'll want to talk to all of your children, of course. Do you have any personal enemies?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "You remember the last great war. Anyone from the East or South would consider us an enemy, and we have a few besides that. Machi, for instance," she said, throwing Sesshoumaru a dark look.

"Machi Kudo? Of Gouken International?"

"Yes."

"What about the victims? Do they have any enemies that you know of?" he asked.

Kagome shrugged and looked at her mate. "I don't know of any. Emiko was an only child. Her parents live in a little suburb outside the city. Sakura has a few siblings that live around the country, but her parents are dead. They both lived pretty basic lives. I can't imagine anyone trying to kill them for personal reasons. I don't know anything about the secretary here or the cleaning crew. Do you, Sesshoumaru?"

He shook his head. "No. Sakura acted like a professional and never disclosed her private life. My mate only knows as much as she does because she cared to ask."

Ito wrote this all down. "We will contact their families." He pointed towards their offices. "And I'll need inventories of what you have in your offices, so we can see what's missing. One of you may have to help out with that after we have the crime scene cleared up."

"I will assist you," offered Sesshoumaru. "I am curious to see what they considered so important."

The detective continued to write for a few moments and then looked up at the two most powerful youkai in Tokyo. He sighed mentally, realizing what a field day the papers would have with this, especially those run by demons. The public loved to read about the rich and their troubles and the Taishos were considered positively boring. They never had public rows, or did dangerous stunts that risked their life and limb, or bought obscenely priced luxury items. They didn't even have a staff to rat on their private lives. A few gruesome murders in the midst of all this perfection would definitely spark public interest and the papers wouldn't forget it. "Well," he said heavily, "that's all I have for you at the moment, but don't leave the city because I'm sure there will be more questions later. And of course, I'll keep you updated on the investigation."

"Please call my son, Washi, when you are done here," said Sesshoumaru, taking out one of his business cards and writing Washi's cell phone number down on the back of it. "I am sure the press is here and they will not allow us to remain silent for long."

Ito nodded, taking the card. "We have to keep some of the details to ourselves, but I will be ready shortly, at least for a preliminary press conference. You can go speak to your son now."

Kagome thanked him and went to the elevator, calling it quickly and stepping inside with Sesshoumaru. Both, somehow, had managed to hold onto their briefcases the entire time and now they just looked at each other. "I… don't know where to go," the hanyou admitted as the doors closed.

Sesshoumaru leaned over and pressed the number for the forty-third floor, where Washi's office was. He presided over public relations, a very important department for a medical company. "We will call Daichi and Rin to the office as well."

"What about all of our meetings? Our clients?" she asked. She closed her eyes for a moment. "Emiko knows all of them. She writes them down for me, puts them in my computer. It'll all be trashed!"

"We will worry about that later," he replied.

Kagome started to breathe hard, leaning on the wall of the elevator for support. "This could ruin us, Sesshoumaru, if they stole something vital. Or even in publicity! Imagine what a nightmare this will be for Washi!"

"He is adept at handling a crisis, which is why we are visiting him first. Our son has not failed us yet."

The elevator slowed to a stop and opened to reveal a fairly empty floor. Kagome guessed that the numerous police cars and officers downstairs were distracting most of their employees, if not detaining them altogether. She shook her head. "Maybe he isn't in his office. Perhaps he's downstairs helping the police."

"Mom!" Washi appeared at the end of the hall and jogged towards them. "What the hell is happening? I can't get a straight answer out of the three people who've come up so far. I was just about to go down to the ground floor."

Kagome stepped forward to meet him and threw her arms around his neck and murmured unintelligibly. Washi looked at his father over her shoulder helplessly as she squeezed him hard. "Um, Mom, what's up?" he gasped a bit. The concealment spell didn't prevent him from feeling her arms crushing the invisible wings on his back.

"Six of our employees have been murdered on the top floor over the weekend, including Emiko and Sakura," answered his father. "Our offices have been trashed. I believe that important papers have been stolen."

Washi took a few moments to process this and then extricated himself from his mother's grasp. "But… there's only financial papers up there. Someone could pull a hell of a job doing some insider trading with that information, but we're not talking about our trade secrets. All that is kept in our safes on other floors or it's encrypted."

"We already considered that," replied Sesshoumaru. "I believe it was a human that did this."

"A human killed Emiko and Sakura?" He blinked a few times. "Okay… um, I'm going to take a few minutes to think about how that's possible, while I go down to the first floor. The press has probably already started to gather."

"We can't tell them anything yet. Detective Ito is on the top floor still looking around. We can't give a press conference without talking with him."

Washi nodded and flipped open his phone. "Okay, I'm going to make a few calls then. Have you talked to Daichi and Rin yet?"

"I shall call them up here," said Sesshoumaru. He looked at Kagome. "You should call Ruri, to check on Satu. If this is a personal attack…" He trailed off, looking more upset than he had in years.

The hanyou blanched in terror and pulled out her own phone. The three rings were torturous.

"Ruri?"

"Hi, Kagome-chan," she said, sounding a bit out of breath.

The hanyou tried to keep the sobs out of her voice. "Is Satu alright?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine. She kinda… spit up on my blueprint for the new downtown museum, but um… I think I got it all cleaned up. You know, she gives me this same glare that Sesshoumaru-sama does when he…" she trailed off. "Kagome? Did you just sniffle?"

"People got killed," murmured Kagome. "Please, please, protect Satu."

"Kagome! What's going on?"

The hanyou put a hand to her head. It felt like it was going to split apart. "I don't know yet. The Demon Squad is here. Sesshoumaru thinks it may have been a personal attack, so I called you to make sure everything was still fine there."

"Everything's fine. I'll even walk the apartment and make sure everything is normal. I still remember my battle training. Don't worry about us. Concentrate on your business." Ruri paused as her friend sniffled a bit more. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Kagome wiped tears away from her eyes. "It was a really good day gone really bad. Keep watch on Satu. We'll be home as soon as the police are done."

One of the things she loved most about her friend was that Ruri always knew when not to push any harder. "Okay, Kagome. Please be careful. And Satu will be fine. I promise. I love you, Kagome-chan."

"Love you too. Bye." She snapped the phone closed and locked eyes with Sesshoumaru, who was now speaking with a very upset Rin and a pale Daichi. They both had a sheen of sweat on their foreheads, as if they had run up the stairs. "Satu's fine," she whispered, knowing that her mate could hear her.

"As is the security guard," added Washi, approaching again. "Nothing out of the ordinary was seen on the video and you know they're not allowed to walk the top floor. The feed must have been tapped, which is nearly impossible to do. Someone really thought this out, Dad."

"I'm beginning to see that."

Washi rocked his weight between his two feet. "Dad, I know you hate this sort of thing, but I think we should all go down there together when the time comes. If only I go, it might look like I'm trying to hide my family away. You know how the press will go crazy with that."

"If I appear, I will be the one expected to make a statement," said Sesshoumaru darkly.

"Perhaps that would be best," Kagome said softly as Washi's phone began to ring. "A united front of the Taisho family."

"Even if you don't like it, Pop, you're the face of this company," said Daichi.

Rin nodded. "The public trusts you. You're known for not being the typical deceitful CEO. If you don't go out there, when we're facing possibly our biggest image crisis, I don't think the public will trust you anymore. We can't afford to lose them."

Sesshoumaru crossed over to his rattled mate, who appeared more exhausted by the minute. "I will not jeopardize my company for the sake of my usual silence. But Washi must write the statement. I have no skill for public relations." He studied her pale face. "You are not taking this as well as I had imagined, Kagome. You may stay here if you wish."

"No," replied the hanyou immediately. "I'm fine. I was once used to losing our subordinates in battle, I guess I just didn't expect it here and now. The feeling was just a bit overwhelming. I'll be back to normal in a few moments when I've gotten used to it again."

The taiyoukai knew that she was exaggerating. It would take days for the sudden upset of her world to be righted again, but he nodded his acceptance. It would do no good to question her self assessment.

Washi snapped his phone shut. "Well," he said, "Ito says he's done for now. It's time to face Japan."

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A/N: There you go. I hope you like the first chapter of the sequel. I know that I really jump into things, but this is basically a short story. Please review and let me know what you think!


	2. Throwback

The Broken House of Taisho

Chapter 2: Throwback

Kagome woke up alone with the blood red quilt at her waist. Sesshoumaru's side of the bed was cold, not that that surprised her. She wasn't sure if he had ever gone to bed at all. Normally, this wasn't unusual but this morning, it sent a shiver down her spine.

Rolling over, her bedside clock announced with neon green numbers that it was ten o'clock in the morning. "Shit!" she cried, sitting up and getting out of bed. She grabbed her robe and tied it around her waist while cursing under her breath, wondering why her mate hadn't woken her up to go to work. The sun had been blocked from the room by the cream colored brocade curtains that Kagome had had to beg Sesshoumaru for. Throwing them open to light up the room, she could see the sun already high in the sky.

Exiting the bedroom, the hanyou walked through her penthouse apartment, down the stairs and into the kitchen. Kagome's eyes widened to see the crowd gathered around her breakfast table. "Um, hello?"

Sesshoumaru looked up from his position by the counter, apart from the crowd. "Good morning," he greeted. He caught the smell of the irritation emanating from his mate. "I did not wake you because I did not feel the need to do so. You have been through much in the past day."

"No more than you," she retorted softly, aware that everyone's eyes were on her. She smiled at the crowd. "Kaori, what a pleasure to see you. Hello, everyone."

Her mother-in-law gave a little nod of the head to the hanyou. For her part, Kagome was amazed that so many people could fit in her kitchen. The most important youkai in the city, most of them her family, sat around Kaori. Makoto, Keitaro and his mate Nami, Ruri, Kamlyn and Kagura, Ginta, Hakkaku, and her three eldest children were all there, sitting around a table strewn with documents and newspapers.

Kagome walked over and picked up one of the front pages. The murders at the Tenseiga building were the lead story, with a bold headline and a color photo of Sesshoumaru at the press conference. She could see her own face in the background, between Rin and Daichi. Skimming the article, her heart sped up. "Scandal?" she murmured. "Surely they aren't insinuating…"

"That we have committed these crimes?" finished Sesshoumaru. "Yes, they have. Just the human papers, of course, but even as unpopular as they are, these articles are getting attention. It was on the morning news."

The hanyou looked over at Kaori with wide eyes. Her mother-in-law shrugged. "Not my stations, my dear girl, but I'll tell you right now that my ratings were probably appallingly low this morning."

"We have to put the story on the evening news," Kagura said.

Kagome sat down in a chair that Hakkaku vacated for her. "No, you don't."

"None of us want to do this, Sis," murmured Kamlyn. "We have to, though. Everyone knows we're related. If we don't report, it'll look like a cover up."

The hanyou growled, making several of the youkai pull back a bit. "I don't understand how they can say these things about us! We had no motive to do this. There's no proof!"

"Um, actually there is," said Kagura, giving her another paper. "You two are the only ones that could have done all this. Someone used the codes to tap into the security system. You and Sesshoumaru are the only ones who could have done it. It's not enough for Ito and the rest of the Demon Squad, but for humans, it should be more than enough."

Ginta shook his head. "I still think that the police missed something. If Hakkaku and I could get into the computers they took! I'm sure we'd find evidence that it was hacked into from outside."

The other wolf nodded as he ran his hand through his hair. His mohawk was long gone, but it was still a shock of white. "The police have some great technicians, but they aren't used to a system of this size. But they'll never let us look. They would suspect us of planting something to clear you guys."

Kagome sighed. "It's alright. If this is their best evidence, I don't think we really have anything to worry about. Ito hasn't called us. More importantly, he hasn't arrested us."

Makoto cleared his throat from across the table. "I believe that we're forgetting the real reason we're here," he said softly. He appeared more serious than Kagome had seen him since the war. "We must realize that the humans are on the cusp of discovering the youkai population."

"What? How is that possible?" She turned around and looked at Sesshoumaru.

"A journalist somehow made it up to the top floor to look at the crime scene," Makoto said, answering for his younger friend. "He saw the burn marks. He saw the acid marks. He witnessed the fully formed snake demoness, Sakura, being put into the body bag. If it wasn't for the blood, the demons would have smelled him, but as it was…"

Kagome stood up and walked over to the coffeepot, pouring herself a large cup of the black liquid. "Five hundred years ago, I told the youkai population that they had to begin to hide themselves. I knew that in this day and age, no humans knew of us and none had known of us for centuries. You know, I didn't think it would be possible at first. We had no governing body, just four territory leaders that didn't even get along very well. There were near misses, of course, but we managed." She drank the coffee in one large draft and slammed it down on the counter. "And now you're telling me that one slip could destroy us all?"

Even Sesshoumaru looked slightly surprised at the hanyou's outburst. "It has always been possible," he replied.

His mate rubbed at her ears. "I'm sorry, but you know, I've worked so hard at keeping us alive for five hundred years! Now, when I have no more information about the future, when I can't help us anymore, we may have ruined everything."

Kaori stood up. "I know, my dear. You have been our seer for five centuries and now things are out of your hands." She held up her hands when Kagome's scent spiked in agitation. "Sorry, I didn't mean to patronize you."

The hanyou nodded. "Thank you. It's just that I don't like to be left out of the loop," she said, shooting a deadly glare at her mate. He only gave her a small shrug.

"Okay, so what do we do about this?" spoke up Daichi for the first time. "I like the good life myself and we all know that humans can be really stupid about things they don't understand."

Washi scowled. "The good life? Is that all you care about, Daichi? _You're_ a quarter human. Is that why you're an idiot sometimes?"

The youngest Taisho son stood up and glared at his elder brother. "I'm not trying to be selfish, Washi. I'm just saying that humans might get a bit… touchy about the fact that most of the elite in Japan aren't human themselves."

The eagle demon opened his mouth to retort, but Kagome cut him off. "Hush, Washi. Daichi's right."

Her son looked at her. "How can you let his words slide, Mom? He insults his own heritage. Your family is human. You grew up as a human. It was your human side that saved him from a lot of lashings as a kid."

"I know, but Daichi is just concerned about our welfare, even if he speaks inappropriately." Kagome sighed and went to Sesshoumaru. "I think, perhaps, that we just need to remember that we're stuck in this trouble together."

The taiyoukai looked down at his mate as the scents of anger and irritation faded from the air. His sons appeared embarrassed, grunting their apologies to each other in typical male fashion. "I believe that if the humans ever discover our existence, that it should not be in this way. Not with scandal and mystery surrounding it. This incident is certainly not the best occasion for a coming out party and if we want to preserve our positions in society, as youkai or youkai posing as humans, we should do all in our power to stop this from going any further. I think this is one of the few times in our lives that solving a smaller problem will fix the larger one. How to go about it though, I must admit that I am not certain." He frowned. "I do not like being uncertain."

Kaori stood up. "Quite right, my son. I believe it may be time for the classic of all broadcast media."

"And what would that be?" Keitaro asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Misdirection, of course," said the matron. "I can't report lies, but every good journalist knows that the best way to make people forget a scandal is to bring up another one. It's just a matter of time."

Sesshoumaru nodded his approval. "Let us hope that some corrupt human chooses this moment to make a mistake." He looked at the clock. "I believe that we have exhausted this subject. We should all get back to our days' business."

They all murmured an agreement and stood up, their chairs scraping across the hardwood floor. Kaori, glowing in her berry colored suit, came up to kiss her daughter-in-law goodbye and to whisper assurances to her son. She sounded as if she was convincing herself more than Sesshoumaru. "Come on, Kaori. Stop pestering them," Makoto said from the doorway.

Kagome smiled at her mother-in-law. "We'll be fine," she said, leading Kaori towards the door. "We'll call you if anything happens."

"I lost this family once. I will not lose it again," said the elder woman.

"No one's losing anyone," asserted the hanyou. She hugged her before Kaori could say another word. "We'll see you soon. Goodbye."

With the door shut and locked, Kagome went back to the kitchen and glared at Sesshoumaru. "You're a real jackass, you know that? You know that you should have woken me up for that entire meeting. I like to hear things for myself, not secondhand from you." She stalked across the floor to get herself another cup of coffee.

"They said the same words over and over again. You heard all of the important parts," he replied, fixing her with his cold eyes. Setting down his own cup, he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to put his mouth against her ear. "I could not wake you. I heard you tossing all night and you finally looked at peace."

Kagome gave a weak scoff. Her ears were her weakness, but she was determined not to give in just yet. "Five hundred years, Sesshoumaru, and sometimes you still treat me like a child. I needed to hear all that was said. I do not want a nicer version from you later."

He pulled back just enough so that his breath wasn't on the shells of her ears. "When have I ever hidden the complete truth from you?"

"Never," she sighed. "I just wanted to be woken up, you know? Sometimes you just make decisions for me that I could easily make myself. I feel weak when you do that."

Sesshoumaru turned her around in his arms, took the coffee from her hands and set it on the counter. "That was never my intention."

"I know," she replied, looking away.

He placed his metal fingertips underneath her chin and made her look back at him. "I will attempt to stop it. You must understand that for hundreds of years, my word was law, the final decision. It is something I am used to and you have never complained before."

She ran her hand down his cybernetic arm. "When you were the Western Lord, I understood it. I even understand it when you overrule me at the office. But at home, I think you should remember that I am your equal, not your subject or your subordinate."

"I will remember," he answered.

Kagome reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him an intense kiss. Mentally checking where the kids were and satisfied that the four eldest were out of the house, she slipped her hands under his collar. A growl of contentment came from Sesshoumaru's throat, wordlessly agreeing with where this was going.

Satu's high-pitched cry over the baby monitor broke them apart and Kagome sighed. "I always forget how bad their timing is." She began to walk towards the nursery. "Of course, Satu is easy compared to Daichi. Remember that?"

Another growl, now irritated, came from the taiyoukai. "His wailing didn't let us mate for three months."

She laughed a bit as she began to climb the stairs. "But when we did… oh, wow."

Sesshoumaru smirked as he continued to follow her. "If you just accepted the help of a wet nurse for Daichi, we wouldn't have been put through such an ordeal."

"I raise my own children, Sesshoumaru. The only reason we are getting a nanny for Satu is that the business needs me too, but I refuse to let any child of mine become more attached to a nanny than to her own mother. I've seen it happen too often among our kind. When Satu doesn't need her, the nanny is gone." She pushed open the door to the nursery and went over to the crib where Satu was still crying. Flattening her ears, she picked her daughter up, instantly quieting her. "Her diaper is wet. You fed her?"

"I did," he replied. Catching her incredulous look, he added, "With Rin's assistance."

Carrying Satu to the changing table, Kagome looked at him again. "Um, you know that you hate this part right? With that sensitive nose of yours?"

"I already can smell it," he informed her.

"Yeah, I know. So what's up?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You only would have followed me if you had something on your mind."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I have been considering one matter, apart from our immediate troubles." He paused as Kagome cleaned up Satu, continuing only when the diaper was in the trash. "I believe that my mother and Makoto are sleeping together."

Kagome froze with the new diaper in hand. "What? No… How do you know?"

"They are good friends, so I cannot depend on my sense of smell, although they are blanketed in each other's scent all the time. I have noticed they look at one another quite often, as we do at meetings, when we would rather be alone in my office."

The hanyou blushed. She and Sesshoumaru had a rule that personal relationships should not interfere with business, but one day they had broken down. She still remembered the embarrassment of finding a Post-It note stuck in her hair. Sakura, thankfully, had been the one to spot it as soon as she left, but the knowing smile on her face had caused Kagome to be red all the way back to her own office. After that day, they added a rule that Post-Its were to be kept in their drawers at all times. "That's not really convincing proof," she said. "The children trade looks all the time, for instance."

"I am aware that it is not damning evidence," he replied. "It is a _feeling_."

Kagome finished changing Satu and picked her up again, balancing her on her hip. "Okay. Well, next time they're here together, I'll watch. If they _are_ sleeping together, does it bother you?"

Sesshoumaru stepped out of the room and walked alongside his mate down the hallway. "No, I don't believe so. I wish that I had been informed, however. Makoto is my oldest friend and she is my mother. I wonder why they do not become mates, if they are so attracted to one another. And sometimes, I wonder what my father would say about it."

"I think that your father might be happy for his former mate, especially after she went through so much. And perhaps they don't want to mate because they're afraid of messing up their relationship. It's a delicate thing, going from just friends to much more than that." She looked up at him. "Don't you remember?"

"We were never friends," he replied.

The hanyou gave him a smack on the arm. "Shut up. Yes, we were."

Sesshoumaru looked at his daughter in his mate's arms. "If she goes to sleep again…"

"Which she won't do," interrupted Kagome. "And it's Midori's half day of classes. She'll be home in an hour or so. Sorry, my mate, better luck tonight."

"Hmm. Well, when she does get back, perhaps you should take her out to spend some of our money."

Kagome turned to look at the miser she was mated to. "You want me to spend money? With Midori, the shopaholic child?"

"She was quite distressed yesterday," he pointed out.

"I know," Kagome replied, lowering her head. "I feel so bad, forgetting to call the school like that. She should have heard that we were fine immediately, not hours after she heard ambiguous reports about murder at Tenseiga Corp. She must have been terrified to come home."

Sesshoumaru nodded as they went to the first floor. "But she did and for that, I am proud of her."

His mate stopped in the living room and placed Satu on the floor with her toys. "Are you saying that she needs some time with her mother then?" She smiled. "That's awfully sensitive of you."

He scowled. "She deserves reward for her composure, nothing more."

Kagome reached up and kissed him on his crescent moon marking. Even if her mother lamented that none of the children had inherited her dog ears, she was more than happy to have two daughters with their father's crescent moon and a son with his stripes. "I'll take her shopping as soon as she gets home, but you have to take care of Satu. Ruri couldn't stay today because she had a presentation to her clients."

Sesshoumaru looked over at his daughter, who was banging her stuffed cat against the edge of the coffee table. "Satu and I will be fine."

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"So how did you convince Dad to let us go to the mall?"

Kagome looked over at her daughter. "Actually, it was his suggestion. I think he was worried about you after yesterday, although he'd never admit it."

The black and silver haired girl raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Well, I'll take advantage of this rare occurrence."

"Good idea."

They strolled past the shops selling jewelry, sporting equipment and make-up. Several people stared at the mother and daughter, but they ignored them. They were used to it. Many people recognized their faces from various magazines and news spots, more so now with all the attention on her family. But Kagome knew that her daughter was also receiving a lot of attention for her exotic looks. Although she could hide the red streaks in her own hair, Midori had never mastered the concealment spell well enough to hide her silver strands. Sometimes, Kagome suspected that she liked the attention. "Where are we going?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know. Shoes? Clothes? Random stuff that your father will burst a blood vessel about?"

Laughing, Midori pointed to the Gucci store across the way. "I could use some new sunglasses."

"You don't need three hundred dollar sunglasses," sighed Kagome.

"What about a six hundred dollar handbag?" her daughter asked with a wicked smile. It faded as Kagome stiffened and looked back over her shoulder. "Mom? Hello?"

She shook herself. "Sorry, baby, I just got a weird feeling for a second there." She smiled at her child. "Well, let's go look in at Gucci. I do have that charity ball for Unicef to go to in a few weeks and this year, your father said that you can come too."

"Really? I can have a dress and everything?"

Kagome furtively glanced back again. "Of course. You'd look silly in jeans. But you're over fifty and we think that you can behave well enough. I know you won't prove us wrong."

"Definitely won't," she said, nearly bouncing in excitement as they stepped into the store. "Let's go look at the dresses!"

They walked through the sparsely decorated store, past the shoes and handbags and other accessories to a rack of silky, slinky dresses. "Forget it," Kagome said, watching Midori pull out a low cut, back-less red number. "Do you want the males at this ball to live through the night? Because your father will kill anyone who looks at you in that dress."

"May I help you ladies?"

Kagome turned to see a short but beautifully proportioned girl in a silk top and cashmere skirt. "Oh no, thanks. We're just looking."

The sales girl smiled at them. "Okay! Just let me know if you need a dressing room or anything." She walked back to the front of the store to greet a couple smartly dressed in black.

Midori was looking through the rest of the dresses. "Alright, how about this one?" she asked, pulling out a variation on the classic little black dress.

"Very nice," said Kagome distractedly as she watched the sales clerk talk to the couple.

"Mom, you're not even paying attention to me."

She looked back at her daughter. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I think that we should leave though. Let's go to another mall. There's a larger one on the other side of town."

Midori frowned and put the dress back on the rack. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right," replied Kagome. She took her daughter's hand. "Come on, let's go."

Although Midori made a small noise of protest, she went along with her mother, towards the exit. The couple that had come in after them still hadn't moved away from the sales woman near the doorway. "I'm sorry," she was saying, "I can't understand you." She frowned as the couple continued to speak in a foreign language.

The silver streaked demoness stopped, pulling her hand out of her mother's grasp. "They're speaking Cantonese," she informed the sales girl. "They want a red suede handbag that will go with ruby earrings."

"Midori…" Kagome took her hand again. "Please."

"Right. I'm coming," her daughter answered, smiling at the relieved sales girl.

They left the store as Kagome's phone began to ring. Trying to walk just slow enough not to attract attention, she fished her cell out of her bag and answered. "Hello?… Ito-san, how are things progressing?… Well, thank you for your confidence in us." She stopped dead, nearly pulling Midori's arm out of her socket. "What do you mean, 'poisoned bullets'?… Species-specific? Do you mean they only react with youkai blood?… Oh, good Kami… Alright, yes. Goodbye."

"So, that wasn't a good conversation, was it?" Midori asked as Kagome urged her forward again.

"Ah well, the good news is that Ito doesn't buy into the bullshit that your father and I were the ones that killed those people. On the other hand, the attack was by humans that know about our race. The bullets were made just to kill youkai. It's almost certainly an attack on us personally."

Midori bit her lip and looked behind her. "Please stop, you're making me paranoid."

"I'm sure we'll be fine. I just want to get home to your father."

The tingling sensation that she had felt earlier went down her spine again and Kagome turned to see the couple dressed in black following them. Midori looked back as well. "They aren't really Chinese," she said, her voice wavering. "Their pronunciations were all wrong. I thought it was a dialect, but now that I think on it…"

The man and woman stopped in the walkway and stared at the mother and daughter. Kagome became painfully aware of how long it had been since she had fought a real opponent, someone other than Sesshoumaru in sparring sessions. She wished that Tetsusaiga was by her side, instead of on her bedroom wall, above Tenseiga and Tokijin. "Midori… hide yourself."

"Absolutely not," muttered her daughter.

Kagome growled softly, but said nothing. It would be of no use. Her child had inherited her parents' stubborn natures. Instead, she swept the terrain with her eyes. It wasn't very crowded, because it was so early in the afternoon, but there was little cover. A bullet would go straight through the glass on every storefront and it would endanger human lives. She could see a pair of young youkai in one of the shops, staring out at the unfolding situation. They had already sensed the tension, the danger. That was not good. Soon, even the humans would notice and Kagome could not afford to make a spectacle of this.

"What do we do, Mom?"

"We keep moving. Let's get to the parking lot," murmured Kagome, keeping her eyes locked with the man's as she took a step back.

The man smiled at her as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a silenced gun. Beside him, the woman removed her own firearm from her purse. Her smile spread across her face, turning her into a grotesque joker, as she lifted her gun into the air and fired up at the ceiling. "Everyone, down!" she yelled over the screams of terror.

Kagome took Midori's hand and began to pull her down to the floor when the man turned his gun on them. "Not you two. Stay standing, monsters."

The hanyou looked over at the youkai couple again, the only other ones still standing. They looked at her in expectation, but Kagome shook her head and they got down to the ground as well. "Just two of you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the human couple. "I'm rather insulted by your confidence."

"Overconfidence is your weakness, not ours," replied the woman.

Kagome only raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish here? Murdering me in full view of dozens of people is hardly the covert operation you pulled at the Tenseiga building. Why bother going through all of that just to blow your cover now?"

"Situations change, monster," snapped the man, waving the gun impatiently. Kagome watched the barrel with trepidation as it pointed towards the others in the mall. He saw her eyes widening and smiled. "So you're concerned for them?"

"Clearly you aren't," retorted the hanyou. "How strange that you keep calling me the monster."

The man smirked and trained the gun upon Kagome once more. The hanyou barely had time to tense her muscles before both he and the woman squeezed off a bullet. Kagome went down and to the left, pushing her daughter out of the way. Midori screeched, regained her balance and sped into the jewelry store next to them. "Mom!" she screamed, horrified when she could not hear her mother following.

Kagome lifted her head from the floor. "Stay down!" she yelled back, forgetting her agreement to let Midori stay by her side. The couple's aim was too practiced. These were professional marksmen, not some trigger-happy humans.

She looked at them again. They had moved closer, frowning at their initial failure, but not firing again. They stared at her expectantly and Kagome realized that they wanted her to be standing up, fighting them, or better yet, running in cowardice. She waited for a few seconds, until the woman glanced at her partner, and Kagome took her chance. Rolling to her feet, the hanyou ran in the opposite direction of her daughter. She was taking a chance. She knew that one of them could go back and target Midori easily, but Kagome would have bet her collection of Manolo Blahniks that they were much more concerned with her.

The woman snapped something at her partner before they shot at her again, forcing Kagome to dive behind the large potted plant in the middle of the walkway. She heard the ceramic shatter and dirt spill out as the rest of the plant began to fall back on her. She had to run again, but there was no where else to hide. If she faced them, she would have to use her demonic powers. She was pushing it as it was, pressing the limits of human speed.

Their footsteps approached and the decision was made for her. Kagome pushed the remainder of the potted plant into their path and took off again, swerving sharply to avoid any bullets. The only thought going through her head was the terrifying fact that bullets moved faster than sound. One of her greatest advantages had been taken away by modern technology.

The decorative marble paneling on the wall exploded and Kagome turned her head to see that the man had drawn a much larger gun from underneath his jacket. People in the mall were screaming again. Someone had been hit. The scent of blood was in the air. Kagome turned a hard left, coming back the way she came, towards her assailants. The person hit was a human, lying on the floor by the entrance of a cellular phone shop, cradling his arm. Just a flesh wound, she realized in relief.

The clicking of reloading the gun clip, came to her ears and the next bullet that hit the wall sizzled. She began to panic. They were using the poisoned bullets. She could smell the chemicals, even though the metal fragment was buried deep into the wall. She wouldn't live if she kept this up. Her demonic side was the only thing that could let her survive.

Decision made, Kagome slowed her speed, allowing the couple to catch up. They stopped thirty feet away and raised the gun barrels again.

"I'm so sorry, Sesshoumaru," she murmured, kicking off her shoes. Turning to the wall, she sprinted up the marble wall, hitting the thirty foot ceiling in two seconds. Before losing her propulsion, she smashed her hands into the marble, gripping it with her claws.

The assassins only paused for a moment, giving Kagome the chance to scramble along the wall, making her finger and toes bleed with the repeated impact. Ripping off a ventilation grating, she crawled inside and backed into it as deeply as possible. For a few moments, everything was relatively quiet. She could only hear her rapid breathing and the murmurs of her attackers.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang. It was Sesshoumaru's personalized ring – the Star Wars theme, which Kagome for some reason had found infinitely entertaining at the time.

Grimacing as it vibrated in her jeans' pocket, she wiggled in the shaft just enough to reach it and pull the irritating contraption to her ear. "What?" she hissed.

"What are you doing, wench?" he hissed back. She grimaced again. He only called her 'wench' when he was feeling dominant in the bedroom or when he was really, really annoyed at her. Somehow, she knew he wasn't feeling frisky. "Do you realize that there is a breaking news story about a mall shooting right now?"

"Oh come on! Why did you assume it was me?" she snapped.

He was growling. Another bad sign for her. "Instinct. Where is our daughter?"

Kagome sighed. "She's safe, I hope." A bullet hit the rim of the ventilation shaft and she yelped. "But I'm not!"

"I cannot help you," he said evenly. "It is bad enough that two Taisho family members are involved. When you resolve your present situation, we will have to talk about this further."

"I didn't go looking for them, you know!" she replied, exasperated and crouching further into the shaft as another bullet sparked against the metal.

Sesshoumaru was quiet for a moment. "You will be fine, Kagome. If I were truly concerned, I would call the former Western army to your location. As it is, this is still a family matter. Protect our daughter, kill the gunmen."

"Everyone will see what I am, if they haven't already," she answered, her voice belying her nervousness. "Doesn't help that the psycho duo keeps calling me a monster, of course."

"Well then, I believe that your situation calls for a bit of _indiscretion_," he said, before hanging up.

Kagome snarled and shoved the phone back into her pocket. "Idiot," she muttered. She scooted up to the edge of the shaft, trying to remain out of view. Bracing her feet against the walls, she bent her knees, asked Kami for luck and catapulted herself from the shaft.

Somersaulting through the air, she landed on her feet, facing the assailants who had patiently waited for her return. "You really want to do this?" she asked them.

"Really do," replied the woman, squeezing her trigger again.

The hanyou got down and rolled away, stopping in front of a cutlery store she had never noticed before. "Kami, you're kidding me," she muttered, ducking again as the shop's glass door shattered. She darted in and glanced at the terrified clerk, cowering in the corner. "Those sharp?" she asked, pointing to the impressive sushi knives behind the cash register.

"Yes," he squeaked.

"Get in the back room," she advised, the words barely out of her mouth before he scrambled into the room, locking it behind him. She leapt over the counter easily and, turning away her eyes, slammed her elbow into the glass. The footsteps of the assassins were coming closer. "Took them long enough," she murmured to herself as she grabbed as many knives as she could.

Facing the door again, an enormous meat cleaver caught her eye. She smiled, smashed the counter open and took that as well before crouching down and crawling around to the back of the store.

"Come out, monster," said the woman. "We tire of your games."

Kagome could smell their annoyance, their sweat from chasing her up and down the corridor. Creeping to the bend of the counter, she took a breath before standing up and hurling the meat cleaver at the woman. She shrieked as it struck her left shoulder and imbedded itself in her bone. Dropping to the ground, the woman let go of her gun and put her hand on the knife's handle. "Not as sharp as I wanted," lamented the hanyou quietly.

The man roared and shot at the counter blindly, missing Kagome by several feet. She heard him help the whimpering woman to her feet and they made their way out quickly. The hanyou waited several moments before getting up, still holding the sushi knives. Looking down, she could see a thick trail of blood. She smiled in triumph.

A scream tore the air apart and Kagome's heart dropped. She hadn't heard that scream since 1976, when Midori had broken her leg in four places while skiing in the Alps. Vaulting over the counter, she ran out, following the bloody path the couple had left. It led directly to the jewelry store that Midori had taken refuge in moments earlier.

The man was standing between the counters, his arm outstretched and pointed down towards something on the floor. Beside him, leaning heavily on the glass counter, the woman was standing in a pool of her own blood. "Get away from her!" Kagome screamed, dropping the knives and moving towards them with incredible speed.

He lifted his lip and moved to fire again, when the woman collapsed, drawing his attention for a crucial moment. Kagome sprang forward, smashing him into the glass and jewelry behind him. She landed on top of him, closing one hand around his throat and another around his wrist. She felt the bones break under his skin and he gave a garbled gasp as he dropped the firearm.

Looking over, Kagome saw her daughter on the ground, breathing hard. Her wound was almost in the same place as the woman's, her left shoulder. She had her right hand on the injury, applying pressure to slow the blood flow. "Mom… your eyes," she murmured.

Kagome glanced at the salespeople and other customers, who were all staring at her in shock and fear. She knew her eyes were glowing red and that her concealment spell had dropped away to reveal her red streaked hair, fangs and claws. Midori's had slipped away too.

Trying to regain control of her demon, the hanyou reached over and grabbed the man's gun. She held it to his head as she climbed off him. "Are you okay, Midori?" she asked.

"Well, a hospital might be nice about now, but yeah… just in incredible pain."

Kagome sniffed the air but she could not smell the acid scent of the poison bullets. "You'll be okay, little one." Glancing over to the woman, she was surprised to find her eyes were open. She gave the assassin a malicious smile.

"We have failed, yes," choked the woman. "But my compatriots will not."

The hanyou's eyes flashed red. "Tell me who you are and your friends will find out all that much sooner if they have the power to beat me." The woman laughed, moving jerkily as if she was trying to sit up. Kagome made no move, keeping her gun on the man's forehead. "Tell me or he dies."

"We die anyway," murmured the woman, pulling out a derringer from her waist. Before Kagome could react, she put it to her temple and pulled the trigger, lodging the bullet deep into her brain.

The man suppressed a whimper as the woman slumped to the ground with blood splattered everywhere. "Look what you've done," he cried. "You've killed an angel of Kami."

Kagome looked down at him in amazement, barely catching the movement of his jaw. When he began to convulse and foam at the mouth, she dropped to her knees and grabbed his shirt. "Tell me who you are!" she demanded.

The man only smiled sadly as he died.

"What… what was that?" whispered Midori after a long moment of silence.

"Cyanide," replied the hanyou, finally releasing the dead man's shirt. "Who the hell uses cyanide these days? Who is he? A Russian spy from fifty years ago? Argh." She stamped her foot as she looked down on the dead pair.

A dozen men suddenly converged on their location, holding a variety of high-powered rifles and pistols, and all pointing them at her. "Drop your weapon!" one of them barked.

Kagome sighed, putting down the gun and raising her hands. "Where were you guys? We missed you and your pretty guns."

"And your pretty ambulance."

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"Although the police would not comment upon the identity of the two women, several witnesses said that one of the women was none other than Kagome Taisho, the president of Tenseiga Corporation. The company suffered a public relations blow just yesterday when six people were found murdered on the top floor of their headquarters. Witnesses to the mall shooting had even more to say, claiming that Mrs. Taisho performed superhuman feats in order to disarm the attackers. They also reported that she went through physical changes that gave her claws and fangs. These claims have only compounded beliefs that Tenseiga Corporation has performed genetic testing on some of their employees, including one of the murder victims. Detective Ito of the Elite Task Force has denied all of these allegations, but—."

Kagome turned off the television and set down the remote on the bedside table. She looked down at her daughter, asleep under the allergy-free sheets. Everything reeked of antibiotics and disinfectant.

The door opened and her mate stepped into the room. His eyes were cold as he looked at her. "The doctor says she will be able to remove the sling in a week."

"Good," murmured Kagome. "The drugs pretty much knocked her out."

"Hmm."

They stared at one another across their daughter's bed. Kagome's chest hurt badly. She had seen Sesshoumaru in many moods over the centuries – angry, annoyed, proud, even happy on a few rare occasions – but she had never seen him as disappointed as he was now. It was emanating off of him in waves.

"I thought what I did was enough," she said. "I thought I had distracted them. They weren't supposed to go after her."

"But they did."

"I tried…"

"And failed."

Kagome was shaking, trying to keep back her sobs. "She's my daughter too, Sesshoumaru," she choked. "I don't need your help to feel this miserable."

The door opened before her mate could respond. A pale woman with unnaturally black hair and green eyes came in. She appeared human, but her scent belied her youkai nature. She smiled at the troubled pair, her gaze barely flickering over the injured girl on the bed. Sesshoumaru frowned at her.

"Machi."

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A/N: I'm glad everyone's enjoying the story (or at least those that reviewed). I don't really have anything to say except thanks for all your support.

Review responses removed due to ban


	3. A Separated Peace

The Broken House of Taisho

Chapter 3: A Separated Peace

"Sesshoumaru-sama, how are you?" Machi purred.

The dog demon frowned at their unwelcome visitor. "I have had better days," he replied.

"Ah yes, I'd heard." Machi walked over the foot of the hospital bed and looked down at the sleeping Midori. "Oh, the poor thing. I hope she isn't in much pain."

"Yeah, I'm sure," snapped Kagome. "Get out. You have no right to be here!"

The acid demoness smirked. "Really? How did you come to that particular conclusion?" She smiled seductively at Sesshoumaru. "It doesn't seem that your mate is very happy with you. This room reeks of disappointment and anger. Why don't I just stay and distract you from your troubles?"

The taiyoukai stepped forward. "Even if I am irritated with my mate, that is no business of yours, Machi," he said quietly. "This is a private hospital and a private room. There is no reason for your presence here."

Machi didn't stop smiling as she pulled a thick file from her bag and handed it over to the dog demon. "I believe this is all the reason I need."

Sesshoumaru flipped through the papers with his usual impassive expression. "Thank you," he murmured, finally looking up and holding the file out for her to take back, "but I know the details of Tenseiga's takeover of your company."

"Well then, you remember the contract I signed when we started this little merger of ours," she replied, not bothering to take back the file.

"Takeover. Not merger," growled Kagome. "Merger implies that we would want your name connected with ours in business."

Machi narrowed her eyes for a split second and then looked back at the silent taiyoukai. "The deal was that the entire process would take place over eighteen months. You bought my company and were able to do as you pleased with its resources, while I received my buy out package and went on my merry way. I only requested that I remain Gouken International's CEO for the entire eighteen months, of which we have about five months left to go."

Kagome rolled her eyes. It had been an unpleasant scene between her and Sesshoumaru the day he told her that Machi would be hanging about for a year and a half. But it was the only way that the viper would agree to the takeover. "What about it?" she said, sick of Machi's dramatic pauses.

"Well, essentially, that clause makes me an executive in your company," she said, smiling. "An executive heading up what will become a large portion of your research facility at Tenseiga Corp. What impacts you at the moment impacts me. So _naturally_, when I heard about this whole mess about the murders and then the mall shooting, I was concerned."

"Oh yes, _naturally_," echoed Kagome with a sneer. "Get to the point!"

Machi pulled out another file, this one much smaller than the first, and handed it over to the hanyou. "The board of directors for Tenseiga Corp shared my concern," she said quietly, not smiling anymore. "They are frightened that the humans will find out about us, something that could damage the company irreparably. They would lose all of their money, their entire investments into your company."

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms. "Tenseiga Corp will survive. The public will not discover the youkai population and even if they do, we are the largest medical provider in Asia. They need our products."

"Oh, always the optimist!" chirped the acid demoness. "But I'm afraid that the board of directors, despite my _best efforts_, believe that you and Kagome are a danger to the fabric of youkai society. Kagome's little stunt today proves that she cannot be trusted with our secrets. That file is a series of demands from the board, the most important being the immediate removal of the president of Tenseiga Corporation."

Kagome finally looked down at the papers in her claws. Indeed, the letter outlined the board's wishes that she be taken off the board and out of her position at the company. It cited that she was a threat to them, professionally and personally. They needed to separate themselves from Kagome, who was becoming the pariah of the media. Looking up at Sesshoumaru, the hanyou could not produce words.

Machi watched the desperation and despair cross her rival's face and grinned. "As head of the board, Sesshoumaru-sama, it is of course your decision to remove the president of the company. But be aware that if you don't comply with the board's wishes, they'll replace you too and Tenseiga Corporation will lose both of its founders. And _that_ would be a shame."

"And who do they propose to replace me with?" said Sesshoumaru, his voice dangerously quiet. "Who will replace Kagome?"

"Ah, well, that's not entirely decided," she murmured seriously. "They want someone who can be trusted, of course. Someone who has the interests of the youkai society and the company at heart."

Kagome felt like throwing up. "You," she choked. "You're going to replace us."

"Well, you know that in most companies, they don't divide the roles of president and CEO. The board has always felt that a single person could really unify the company, give it a clear direction," Machi said. "It was cute, really it was, when you two decided to share the weight of the company's work, but unfortunately, cute doesn't quite cut it with the board. So sorry, kids." She smiled wickedly at them.

"Leave now," said Sesshoumaru, his tone flat. "My mate and I will discuss what you have told us."

Machi gave him a little curtsey, clearly only in jest, but took back her files and went to the door. "Goodbye, Sesshoumaru-sama. Let me know what you decide." She opened the door and paused. "It will be so _enjoyable_ working together again," she murmured, before slipping out.

Kagome clenched her fists, crumpling the file in her claws. "That _whore_," she spat. "Does she really think that she can get away with this?"

"I believe she can," murmured the taiyoukai. "Everything she said was true."

"Sesshoumaru!" the hanyou snapped. "You can't really be thinking of complying with her ludicrous demands, can you? She doesn't just want me out, she wants you out of the company too, just to spite us! If you suspend me as president, she'll find a way to get rid of you too!"

Midori shifted underneath the sheets, tossing her black and silver hair across the pillow. Sesshoumaru frowned at his daughter's obvious discomfort. "We cannot discuss this here," he said, going to the door.

"I won't leave her," the hanyou replied resolutely.

"Then we go to the roof," the taiyoukai said. "We will disturb no one but each other there and she will be only three floors below us. You said the drugs had rendered her unconscious for awhile yet."

Kagome hesitated a moment, but her ire against Machi won out, demanding that she scream out her frustrations. "Fine," she sulked, following her mate out of the room and to the roof accessible stairwell. Demonic endurance took them to the top in less than a minute and they broke out into the open air. Kagome took deep breaths, wondering when the hospital walls had become so oppressive.

The wind was strong, sending the hanyou's hair into a stream of red and black. Sesshoumaru, as was his custom on working days, had his hair tied back. Around them, skyscrapers were painted against the bluish atmosphere, dark and menacing with their glossy, tinted windows. Kagome thought of Inuyasha, leaping from one roof to the next, in days when humans would just rub their eyes and convince themselves that they were seeing things. Every once in awhile, Kagome would do it in the early morning hours, feeling the air whip around her. Now, she felt like she would never have that freedom again.

"You have to step down," said Sesshoumaru. "I do not want to remove you by force."

"So you've already decided, have you?" snapped Kagome, focusing again on her mate. "Why? Why are you giving into her? We can fight her! We can reason with the board of directors, tell them what's going on. They'll understand! They've been with us for ages!"

The white haired demon frowned. "They are old, doddering demons. They have no sense of faith or trust. They are schooled in the old ways, ways that you never ascribed to."

"Because they're stupid ways!" cried the hanyou. "How did you all survive before I came along? No trust, no loyalty?"

He crossed his arms, his metal one tapping its finger. "You do not understand, Kagome. We survived because we were strong and depended on no one. You are not the reason we live until today, my mate. Do not have such pride in yourself. It is misplaced."

She lifted her hands and shoved him, making him step back one pace in his surprise. "Stop it!" she screamed. "Stop justifying yourself! Stop justifying the fact that you're abandoning me!"

"Are you asking that I give up the company instead?" he snarled back.

"I'm asking you to be the Sesshoumaru that I fell in love with five hundred years ago!" she yelled. "The one that wouldn't take this crap from anyone! Least of all, Machi!"

Sesshoumaru took deep breaths. "What do you suggest? That I kill her? That is what the old Sesshoumaru would have done. You ask me everyday to be more human and when I am, you insist that I revert to my old behavior." He stepped closer to her, so that his warm breath flowed over her and shielded her from the wind. "This is about more than just my relationship with my mate, it is about our family that works here, the hundreds of employees we have that depend on us for their livelihood and the customers who would otherwise be without medicine and supplies. Do you ask that I abandon all of them to save your pride and humiliate Machi? I am not even convinced that that would stop her."

Kagome began to shake. "I helped build this company and she's taking it away so easily! I can't let her, Sesshoumaru! Please, help me! I don't want her in my job, in my office, destroying what I have worked for!"

He closed his eyes briefly and when they opened again, she was frightened to see how icy they had become. "There is one more measure we must take in order to assure the survival of the company. You must move out of the house. We must announce our separation."

The hanyou choked and pulled back, holding her arms close to her chest. "No, no… The job is bad enough, now you want me to live without you at home too?" she murmured. Her voice soared to a grating volume. "Is this a joke!"

"I must separate myself from you in name only," he said. "You will not work for the company and you will not live at our home, but you will still be my mate and my wife. It will only be for a short time, until the dust has settled."

"This is all about image?" she snapped back. "Why can't you stand with me against this? Why can't you resist her, at least personally?"

Sesshoumaru stepped forward, bringing himself within touching distance again. "We cannot be connected in any way, or the media will condemn both of us. Even without Machi, that will be enough to destroy us."

"This is what she wants!" she screamed. A tear leaked out from the corner of her eye as she took a breath and looked at him. "Do you really think that being with me will destroy you? After all we've weathered together, this will be our undoing?"

When Sesshoumaru had no answer, she sank to her knees. "Sesshoumaru…"

He took her wrists in his hands and pulled her to feet and against his chest, pinning her to him with his grip. "No. We will fight her. I never said that we would not resist, but you are asking me to do it in a way that will defeat us before we begin. One of us must maintain our positions. It is the only way we will keep our power." He lowered his head, so that his lips were beside the warm shell of her ear. "She will never step foot in your office, I will make certain of that. And be assured that she will never step foot in mine either. You are my mate. I will have none but you."

She looked up at him with tears misting her vision. "Why do you think I'm worried about your fidelity?" she whispered.

"Because when it comes to Machi, you have always been concerned about it," he answered. Seeing her soft look, he scoffed. "Don't think too kindly of me for saying so. You should know that I think you rather idiotic for considering Machi a threat to our bed. Of all the females surrounding me, that one is the most repulsive to me, as you have known for five hundred years. I would rather have Kagura and you know how irritating I find her usually."

Kagome pulled back sharply. "You find _me_ irritating too."

Sesshoumaru sighed in defeat, again dragging her back into his embrace. "An entirely different brand of irritating, I assure you," he said dryly. "You know why I keep you above all others."

"Actually, I don't really," said the hanyou, her voice muffled against his chest. The initial shock was over. She could even see his logic, although she still didn't approve of it. It would do no good to remove herself from the company presidency if she still had the ear of the company CEO at home. The board of directors, guided by Machi, would easily cite that as a reason for Sesshoumaru's removal. It was ludicrous, how easily they had been strong-armed into this precarious position. A clean break, at least from the public's point of view, would be the best weapon against the situation. It didn't make her happy, but it only mattered that Sesshoumaru wasn't truly rejecting her. "Why don't you tell me why you love me?"

He growled softly. "I am neither drunk nor near death. I have no reason to explain my feelings for you. I do not speak of them, something that you agreed to long ago. My actions speak for themselves. Have I not proved myself?"

"Yes," agreed Kagome, "but you're firing me and kicking me out of our house. I think I deserve a bit of sympathy here. Especially since I didn't throw any punches at you."

"When have you ever beaten me at a fair fight?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Rethinking it, he shrugged. "Although, if I have a choice between a fight and speaking of emotion, I will gladly take the fight."

The hanyou wiped away the tears. "You just said that I never beat you, so how would fighting you make me feel any better?" She laughed sadly as Sesshoumaru looked furious with himself. "Now spill it. Make me pleased to be your mate and not angry that you're picking the company over me."

Sesshoumaru ran his tongue along his sharp teeth, a nervous tic of his that Kagome rarely saw. "I am not angry at you," he said suddenly.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, sufficiently intrigued to forget her coquettish demands for sweet words. "What do you mean? About Midori? What happened in the mall?" She frowned and looked away, staring through the obsidian buildings to the horizon. "I don't blame you for being mad. I'm mad at myself. I was careless and our child could have died."

"It has been a very long time since you had to fight alone," said the taiyoukai, brushing back the hair that was flying into her face.

"I know how to fight alone and in groups. I was careless. Please don't make excuses for me." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him. "I won't be caught like that again though. I swear that my children will be safe as long as I am alive to protect them."

Sesshoumaru rested his chin on his short mate's head and looked up at the sky with his cold golden eyes. A helicopter was there, in the distance, as a speck of black against the cloudless heavens. Probably just a news chopper, reporting on the traffic on the highway it was flying over, but it gave him a feeling that his lungs had been frozen in ice. "We should go back inside," he said, not wanting to alarm his mate. "The doctors may allow us to bring Midori home tonight."

"That would be nice," she murmured, pulling away, but slipping her hand into his. It was something that he only allowed in private.

"Yes," he agreed distractedly as they walked back to the stairwell. He let her go in first and turned to watch the helicopter as it moved farther away, disappearing into the west.

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"This is ridiculous! She can't do this!"

"That's what I said."

Washi raked his hands through his hair. "Mom, the company will sink without you."

Sesshoumaru scowled at his eldest son, but Kagome put a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't mean it like that, my mate," she said. "Washi, I know this is going to be difficult, but we both hope that it won't be for long. Soon enough, the board will come to its senses or the crisis will be over and I'll be back in my office. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Mom," said Rin, speaking for the first time since they had sat down in the living room. She cradled her chin in her hand. "What are you going to do?"

Kagome gave her mate an uneasy look. "Well, I've decided to move out actually, so that your father can protect the company without me being a distraction."

Daichi gripped the arms of his chair. "You're getting divorced?" he said, his eyes wide.

"No," said the taiyoukai. "Your mother has the media and public decrying her and soon enough, it will spread to the company and myself. It already has in some respects. I believe that the illusion of marital problems would ease the tension for the board of directors."

"Screw them!" snapped their son.

The hanyou frowned and went over to her child, hugging his shoulders as he scowled in a manner identical to his father. "It'll be easier this way. Don't worry, I still love your father and he loves me. _Right_, _Sesshoumaru_?" she said slowly, determined to get his help in allaying the children's fears.

The dog demon gave a curt, single nod. "I am sure our children are aware of it," he said in a clipped tone.

Kagome rolled her eyes but returned her attention to Daichi. Her second son had always needed the greatest amount of emotional support. She suspected that it had to do with the fact that Washi and Rin had already been through so much in their lives before Daichi was born, that he felt dwarfed by them. They had been strengthened by the war against the god so many centuries ago, but Daichi had been weakened by it, even if he hadn't been born yet. The eldest biological child, but the youngest of the three born in the Feudal Era. It was strange to her at times.

Rin waited for the discomfort of the moment to pass. "Where are you going then, Mom?" she asked.

"To the City," she said, speaking of their old home in the West. "It will be safe there. No one is allowed into the private preserve except the grounds and housekeepers. Remember that there are still people trying to kill us. They're mainly after me and your father, but I know they won't hesitate to kill any of you either."

"Which is why I would have you two moving back here for the time being," said Sesshoumaru, looking at Rin and Washi. "I can protect you all here."

The two eldest children looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess I am a bit rusty on my fighting skills," admitted Rin, trying to avoid her father's gaze.

He arched a white eyebrow. "Then we will work on that. All of us could do with more training." Looking between his three grown children, he frowned. "Actually, I would like for you to accompany your mother to the West, Washi."

The eagle demon stretched his wings a bit. "Um, alright. Why me? Don't you think I should be staying back here to help my PR department?"

"Yes, ideally that would be the situation," agreed Sesshoumaru, "and although none of my children are truly battle ready, I believe you are the most prepared if the need arises. I do not like to send your mother alone to the West, even if she does plan to take Tetsusaiga. I will inform your department that any major decisions must go through you first."

Washi nodded. "What about Ito and the investigation? Have you heard anything?"

"The bullets that killed Sakura and Emiko were tipped with a paralyzing poison, engineered for use on youkai," said Sesshoumaru, who had had a long talk with Ito while Midori and Kagome were taken to the hospital. "They have no leads on possible suspects. We know that the assassins in the shopping center were human, but that does not mean that they do not have demon accomplices."

Rin sighed. "That doesn't really narrow down the list of who we can trust and who we can't, does it?" she murmured.

"No, it does not, which is why I am enacting a new rule for this family," said the taiyoukai. "None of us will be allowed personal contact with anyone who is not blood tied or honor bound to us. Any meetings with unknown clients will be cancelled for the time being and I am instituting a curfew of eleven o'clock on all nights."

"So, basically, only close friends and family?" asked Rin, her face scrunched up.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "If your mother or I have not met them several times, I do not want them to be in contact with anyone in this family. Of course, this includes most humans. It is for our safety."

Daichi stood up. "You can't restrict our comings and goings, Pop. I mean, I understand that you want to keep us safe, but don't you think you're taking it a bit far? How are we supposed to function at work? We meet dozens of new people everyday."

The taiyoukai turned a cold eye on his son, who was the last person he expected to protest. "I doubt you will have any trouble avoiding strangers at work, since you so adeptly avoid work in general."

"Sesshoumaru!" warned Kagome, glaring at him.

He looked back at his mate. "As our son and a resident of this household, he should listen to me. It could be a matter of his survival, especially since he has paid as much care to his fighting skills as his work responsibilities."

As Daichi began to close his hands into fists, Kagome stood up. "This is neither the time, nor the place to be talking about what you think our son needs to do in his life. He has a point, you know. It will damage the business that you so ardently are trying to save if you restrict their movements within the company." She lowered her voice. "You could have at least discussed this little 'rule' with me first!"

"It does not affect you. You will not be here," he countered. Looking back at his son, Sesshoumaru lifted his chin. "And you will adhere to my rules, Daichi."

"The hell I will!" snapped the younger dog demon. "I'm not like your other kids, _Father_. I'm not some golden child who will let myself get pushed around by you! I'm five hundred years old!"

"Then you should start acting like it!" retorted his father. "Your siblings recognize the importance of my rule!"

Daichi set his jaw. "Only because they have no lives outside of yours! Of course they bend to your will! What else have they known? When have they ever questioned their _great father's_ words? I'm not them, Father! I don't have to please you to feel good about what I do in my life! I actually have my own thoughts!"

Rin and Washi stood as one, both glaring at their younger sibling with shock and anger. "I'm not mindless, Daichi!" said Rin, a rare sign of anger coming through. "I just know that Dad is right! We can't just go around talking and meeting with anybody when anybody could be trying to bump us off!"

"All he has ever done is hold you back, Rin!" yelled Daichi. "Why don't you think you're married? Is it because no human could be good enough for Sesshoumaru-sama's precious daughter? Or is it because you've come to believe that too?"

"Shut up!" seethed Washi as Rin sat back down, dumbstruck and on the verge of tears. "You have no right to judge her! She has done a hell of a lot more than you ever will!"

"Of course! That's what Father thinks, don't you, Father?" Daichi rounded again on Sesshoumaru. "I'm the worthless one, aren't I? The one that never amounted to anything. But that's only in your book! This is my life and I can do as I please!"

"You are under my roof!" roared the taiyoukai. "You should be an adult by now! Earn your keep and follow the rules that I set for the sake of our _lives_ and you can do whatever you wish!"

Daichi spared a quick glance for his mother, who was standing beside him, pale and shaking. For a moment, guilt pervaded his heart, but anger won out. "You know," he said, looking back at Sesshoumaru, "I can do the same exact thing away from you too."

He walked away, towards the front door with tensed shoulders and his tail wrapped around his shoulder. As he put his hand on the door, Sesshoumaru spoke, softly but able to be heard by everyone. "If you leave, do not expect any support from us. I will not protect you."

His son barely waited until his father had fallen silent when he pulled open the door and walked out, slamming it behind him. There was a deathly silence as the echoes of the door finished reverberating. Rin began to cry noiselessly into her hands while Washi stared at the floor.

"Why?" choked Kagome. "Why did you do that to him? You just sent our son out into a world that wants to kill him!"

Sesshoumaru looked defeated for a moment before glaring at her. "What was said has been building for years. It was at its breaking point."

"And it broke us!" cried the hanyou. "He has no food! No clothes! No money! How can you do that to him? He is our child!"

"He is no longer a child! That is the problem!" he snapped. Seeing Kagome recoil, he looked away, up at the corner of the walls and ceiling. "Pack your things, Kagome. You and Washi will be leaving in the morning. We will not speak of it further. Washi, you and your sister should go to your apartments and get your things. Don't leave one another's sight."

The eagle child nodded. "What about Satu? Is she coming?"

"Yes," said Kagome quietly. "Your father must take care of Midori." A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Two children with her, two children with Sesshoumaru, leaving one to fend for himself. She couldn't bear to think on it.

Sesshoumaru looked at his mate and took a deep, silent breath. "Go, Washi. The way should be clear," he said, his hint that Daichi was gone lost on no one.

Washi pulled his sister to her feet. Her tears had stopped flowing, but she still looked shocked. Of all the children, Rin had been closest to Daichi. She had helped take care of him as a baby and although she and Washi were like twins, Daichi was still her little brother and she would always consider him as in need of her care. To hear that he thought such horrible things about her… it was traumatic to say the least. "Come on, Rin-chan," said the eagle demon, leading her out.

After they disappeared, Kagome met her mate's gaze with hollow eyes. "I should pack," she said, repeating his earlier words.

"Kagome." He paused and made sure she was paying attention. "He must grow up sometime."

Keeping her deadened stare, she shook her head. "It wasn't meant to be that moment. He was right, you know. You have to accept that he is different from our other children."

"He is my only blood son," argued the taiyoukai, "yet he acts like a changeling, as if he did not grow up in my household."

Kagome laughed, but one that sent a chill down the spine of even the great dog demon. "He is your son," she said, still smiling sardonically. "No one would question that. You are so alike."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "He is lazy and disobedient. How is he anything like me?"

"If you can't see it," she said, her eyes cold, "then perhaps it was time for him to leave us." She turned and moved towards the stairs, but paused with her back towards him. "If the illusion of marital issues would help our problems get solved, imagine what real issues will do."

"It was not my intention to cause problems between the two of us, Kagome," he said, his frown deepening.

She lowered her head, her hair spilling forward over her shoulders. "I should pack. Then I'm going to sleep. Goodnight."

He watched his mate vanish up the stairs and into their bedroom. The lock turned and Sesshoumaru sat down on the couch. He wasn't allowed in tonight. He often did not sleep at all, but when Kagome turned the deadbolt, he knew he wasn't even welcome. Never mind that he could destroy the door in one strike, it was the principle of the thing.

At the same time, he couldn't blame her in the least. Even he, the terrible and cold dog lord, felt the weight of guilt on his heart. Daichi was his son. 'Is', he corrected himself. 'He is my son.'

He had seen many demons disown their children over the centuries. There was a rash of it during the Boxer Rebellion in China a century before, when many demons were dying in fires and on the ends of peasants' pitchforks. The younger generations had insisted that the Japanese contingent help their youkai brothers, but the older ones, marred by eons of competition with Chinese demons, refused. Sesshoumaru had been lucky. Washi and Rin had been in a nasty scrape with some Chinese youkai in the late 1700s and Daichi just didn't care. The great taiyoukai had been able to watch as other families disintegrated while his own had stood firm. After many unsuccessful attempts at helping the others, Kagome had watched with him, murmuring how happy she was with her family that would never abandon one another.

When Daichi had been born, Sesshoumaru could barely move from his crib. It was his son. _His son_. A blood heir was the most important thing a mate could give her male in that time and place. Looking down at the little copy of himself, minus only the crescent upon his forehead, Sesshoumaru had _known_ that Daichi would be a credit to his kingdom. How could any son of his be anything else?

He wondered what went wrong.

"Dad?"

Sesshoumaru looked up to the top of the stairs to see Midori, her arm in her sling and her hair tussled. "You should be in bed. The doctor would not be pleased to see you walking about."

She nodded and glanced back over her shoulder. "Yeah, but I think something's wrong with Mom. She's crying. It woke me up." Looking back at her father, she caught the flash of emotion run through his eyes. "What happened? Did you two fight?"

"In a manner of speaking," he said.

The girl began to walk down the stairs and Sesshoumaru made no move to stop her. If a bullet wound didn't prevent her from moving around, he certainly couldn't. "It wasn't about me, was it?" she asked as she reached the bottom. "Because Mom was really trying to protect me. I don't blame her at all!"

"I know." He glanced up at the second floor landing and listened for a moment. Kagome was crying very hard. It was surprising that he hadn't noticed. The scent of salt was rolling down the stairway. "Your brother left the house. He and I had the argument. Your mother is angry at me for that reason."

Midori sighed heavily and sat down on the bottom step, cradling her injured arm. "It was Daichi?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Washi will be returning soon with your sister and their belongings. Your mother and Washi will be leaving tomorrow with Satu. You and Rin will remain with me."

The girl didn't seem surprised, just nodded once in agreement. Of all the children, Midori was most like her father, with her cold calculations of logic. Kagome would sometimes joke that at least the girl had gotten some emotional capacity mixed in too or she would have gone crazy. "I don't understand how you guys survived back then," she murmured, "when everyone was trying to kill the family, not just some nut jobs."

"It was different," replied the taiyoukai. "We knew our enemies and if a new one arrived, we soon would discover all we needed to know about him with our spies. Death by sword was not murder then, it was protection of your home and family."

"Did you kill a lot of people, Dad?" she asked, tracing circles on the steps with her finger.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Many. I was a demon lord. It was permitted and I freely exercised that right. I do not regret it. Nor do I hide my past."

"Well then, why can't you kill these people? To protect us?"

"Eventually, I may have to," he admitted, "but you know the laws of this land. I cannot spill blood without reasonable cause. Not even the demon authorities would accept a vigilante mission to find your attackers and kill them. You see what sort of trouble your mother may be in for just allowing those two assassins to kill themselves."

"She couldn't have stopped them. It was so sudden," she said, knitting her brow.

The dog demon nodded. "I am well aware of that, but it remains that there are two dead bodies while you and your mother survived. They were the ones with the firearms after all."

Midori leaned her head against the cool wood banister. "I suppose. I just wish it would be over. I don't want Mom to be frightened anymore." She yawned, barely able to cover her mouth with her hand.

Sesshoumaru walked forward and scooped up his daughter easily. "It is time for you to go to bed. We will talk more in the morning." He carried her upstairs as she leaned drowsily against his shoulder. By the time he covered her with her comforter, she was asleep. As he returned to the first floor, he could still hear Kagome crying.

He suddenly felt very tired. Turning off the living room lights, he laid down on the couch, bunching a couple pillows underneath his head. Thirty minutes ticked by but his eyes were still open, staring at the white vaulted ceiling. The crying had stopped, but the smell of salt still wafted through the air. All the great taiyoukai could do was stare into the shadows and wait for sunrise.

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A/N: Aw, yeah, I know – they've had a really, really bad day. Don't worry about it. That's all I have to say about that. If there's any glaring mistakes in here, please point them out. School is burning me out right now and I only did some mediocre editing – I just can't stress over it anymore. Anyway… thanks for the reviews! I appreciate them all and will continue to reply personally.


	4. Red Castle

A/N: It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I graduated from college and then AFTER that, I had finals. It was weird… and a bit annoying too. Anyway, there was really no point to this author's note except to say thanks to everyone who suffered through my college years with me. Thanks and I love you all. Hope you like the chapter.

The Broken House of Taisho

Chapter 4: Red Castle

Kagome pressed her clothes down into her suitcase, using much more force than necessary. Droplets of salt water dripped down her nose and fell onto her best skirt. She zipped up the sides and sat down to put on her shoes, stopping twice to blow her very red nose. She felt soggy with grief.

There was a knock on the door. "Mom?" Washi's scent flowed in. "Are you ready to go?"

She wiped her eyes, stood up and unbolted the door. "Yes. Come in," she said softly, walking back to the foot of her bed.

He opened the door and walked into his parents' bedroom. Although he rarely saw his father there, and indeed, rarely was in the room at all, Washi felt Sesshoumaru's absence at once. "All of my belongings are downstairs already. Do you want me to take yours down too?"

"Please."

Washi went to her suitcase and picked it up. "Is this all?" he asked.

The hanyou walked over to the wall, took Tetsusaiga from its support and placed it in a special made carrying case. "This too." She handed it over to him and frowned. "Is your father downstairs too?"

"Yes," he replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "He's in the kitchen with Rin and Satu. Midori is getting dressed, I think. Did… did you want me to tell Dad that you were coming down?"

"If you did, do you really expect him to make himself scarce?" asked Kagome dryly. "No, he never runs from anything, not even confrontation with his mate."

The eagle demon frowned. "Is that what it's going to be? A confrontation?"

"I sincerely hope not," she replied, rubbing her temples. "But if it is, let's get it over with." She grabbed her jacket and left the bedroom with Washi trailing behind.

Sesshoumaru was still in the kitchen when she entered. He looked up at her with golden eyes that were shockingly dull and tired. Kagome suspected that she appeared quite the same, but she hadn't been able to even glance in the mirror that morning. She still managed to plaster a smile on her face as she looked at her two girls. "Good morning," she said.

"Morning, Mom," replied Rin, standing up. She was still wearing her pajamas, a sign that she wasn't entirely put together this morning either. "Want some breakfast?"

"No, no," said Kagome, a bit too hurriedly. She could just imagine the discomfort of sitting and eating breakfast with Sesshoumaru across the table. "We really need to go as soon as we can."

Washi picked up his smallest sister and placed a kiss on her feathery haired head. "We're going to take the Honda. And I've already faxed the statement about um, your relationship troubles to the office. It's pretty bare on details, but with a lot of implications about the company issues. The guys will release it to the press later this afternoon. It will make the six o'clock news for sure."

Kagome smiled weakly at him. "Alright, well, we should probably go then. Is all of Satu's stuff together?"

"Yeah, I packed everything you would need if you went underground for six months," said Rin, pointing to an overflowing diaper bag and two more cases covered with cartoon-like giraffes and elephants against a sky blue background. "You should be all set. The stroller and baby seat are already in the car. I checked last night. I even gave her a bath this morning."

"Thanks, sweetheart." She took the diaper bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Can you get the rest?" she asked her son, taking Satu from him.

Washi juggled the bags. "Yeah, no problem."

Kagome spared a glance for her mate, who was now standing on the other side of the kitchen with his arms crossed. "Goodbye," she muttered, turning and walking towards the door with the other two children at her heels. "Midori!"

Her second daughter came clambering down the stairs, despite the sling cradling her arm. "Mom! Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, I am, baby. Come say goodbye to Satu and Washi."

Midori kissed her little sister and murmured a few words about good behavior before turning to her brother. "Take care of Mom," she said, giving him a hug that made him drop two of his four suitcases.

"No problem, sis." He gave her a one armed hug before he picked everything back up. "Be good. Listen to Dad."

The silver and black haired girl bit her lip. "He kinda has to speak before I can listen to him."

Kagome's breath escaped her. "Let's go. I don't want to be stuck in traffic." She opened the door and smiled at her two elder daughters. "We'll call you when we get there, alright?"

Rin stepped forward and firmly shut the door before her mother could escape. "Please," she pled, taking Satu from her. "You have to say goodbye to him. Or yell at him. I don't care. Please just don't ignore him. Please. He was on the couch last night when we came back and he looked terrible. This is really tearing him apart, you know?"

"Alright, alright," sighed the hanyou, giving her the diaper bag as well. "I'll be back in a minute."

She left her four children in the entryway and walked back into the kitchen, where she caught Sesshoumaru making his morning coffee Irish. He barely glanced at her as he placed the whiskey back on the liquor shelf and took a deep draft of his drink. "I thought you were leaving," he said at last.

"I am," she replied. Stepping forward, she pointed her finger at him. "At your request, remember?"

He nodded. "I remember."

She sighed as she leaned up against the counter a few feet from him. "You have to actually talk to the girls while I'm away. You can't just shut yourself up with a liquor bottle and a coffee maker."

Sesshoumaru scowled and drained his cup. "I promise that I'll only do it for eight hours each morning."

"This isn't like you," she said, in awe of his lack of control.

"In all fairness," he replied, getting the whiskey bottle again, "you have never seen me without my mate, after I had spent five centuries with her. After I had become wholly accustomed to her."

Kagome threw up her hands, looking towards heaven. "This is how you tell me that I'm important to you? By getting yourself wasted and sulking in the kitchen? By saying that you're 'accustomed' to me? Is this you telling me that you love me, in your own twisted, demon way?"

"Yes, perhaps."

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before straightening up. Walking over to her mate, she took the cup from his hands and set it down on the counter. Luckily for her, the alcohol seemed to have affected Sesshoumaru's reaction time. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, ignoring the taste of whiskey. Pulling away a few moments later, Kagome wasn't smiling. "That wasn't forgiveness, Sesshoumaru. I want to make that clear, alright?"

He blinked. "Alright."

"I just wanted you to know that I do still love you and I will never leave you. Remember? You said that you would have no one else as a mate. That goes for me too. Please, don't hurt yourself while I'm gone." She rested her forehead against his jaw. "I have to go."

She pulled away just as Sesshoumaru began to bring her closer. "I have to go," she repeated.

"You're still angry at me then," he said, looking more like a lost puppy than she had ever seen him.

"No… I mean, our son still isn't home, you know? He's still out there with possible killers after him," Kagome replied. "I'm not mad… I'm… hurt. I'm in so much pain that I can barely talk. I'm amazed that I've managed to speak at all really. And I blame you almost entirely for it. That might not be fair, but that's how I feel. I guess… I guess I'm a bit angry still, but it's mostly pain. When I see you though, it hurts a little bit more."

Sesshoumaru picked up his coffee cup again. "I do not want you to be in pain," he said.

Kagome smiled softly as she took the cup out of his hands. "I know, which is why you'll probably be forgiven very soon. But you understand why I can't do it now." She watched him nod. "I love you. I'll see you soon."

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The hanyou pawed through the glove compartment. "Our permit isn't in here. I could have sworn it was in here!"

"I told you, Mom," said Washi, keeping his eyes on the country road. "It must be in the BMW."

"I hate that car," muttered Kagome as she gave up her search. "It was a moment of weakness and very persuasive car salesman. You know, your father nearly killed me for not buying Japanese. We should keep a permit in all of our cars." She sat back and looked out at the passing countryside.

Washi laughed softly. "Come on, Mom. You know we keep those permits for guests. The guard at the City gate will recognize us. They always do."

Kagome shrugged. "I guess you're right. Oh, it's a left up here. That unmarked road."

"I know, Mom. I've driven this before."

She looked at him. "Your father always drives. And it's a complicated path."

The eagle demon coughed. "Ah, well, I remember the turns then." He glanced at his mother's unconvinced expression. "Alright, so I've been up here without you guys before. Got lost a couple times too."

The hanyou's eyes widened. "You've been taking girls up here?"

Washi shifted in his seat. "Uh, well… yes?"

"Hmm. Well, I suppose you're a grown boy. And part of the City is yours by right," she said. "I guess it's alright."

He looked again at his mother. "You don't sound alright."

"Well, I know that you're five hundred years old and some change, but it's always disturbing to a mother to find out that her son isn't exactly…" she trailed off and bit her lip.

"A virgin?" he offered, smiling a bit now.

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Washi!"

The eagle demon laughed. "Oh come on, Mom. If I can admit that to my own mother, the least you can do is be accepting of it. At least you know that your son isn't some hopeless loser without any prospects for a future mate."

"You do have prospects then?" she asked, trying to escape from the whole sex side of the conversation.

"No," he admitted. "Most of them just want my money to tell the truth. Well, your money."

The hanyou sighed. She knew that this would be the situation for her children when the company began to be successful. "Well, that's what prenuptial agreements are for. You don't even have to get married. They make them for youkai mating bonds too."

"No offense, Mom, but that's really not how I want to start off any relationship." He shrugged and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I'm fine with my life right now. And don't worry about me. I'm hardly a playboy."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "So why haven't I met any of them?"

Washi shrugged again. "None of them really were 'come meet my terrifyingly cold father, my very protective mother and psycho siblings' types."

"Nice try on downplaying my faults," said the hanyou with a roll of her eyes. "And I don't think you're being fair to us."

"I'm not the only one. Daichi and Rin are petrified of bringing home their dates too." He grinned at her. "Don't worry, it's mostly because of Dad. We don't really want him to know who we're dating, in case it turns sour and he decides to take revenge on them… and their families and their family pets."

Kagome smiled. "He wouldn't do that. Not these days anyway. Besides, I think Rin is the only one who has to worry about that, being that her dates would be males." She turned in her seat and stared carefully at her son. "Speaking of which, do you know who Rin is dating?"

Washi didn't shift in his seat this time. "Afraid not, Mom. Wish I did. She's been driving me batty with her ditzy little smiling and prancing about. Whoever it is, I think this might be it. She might be getting a mate pretty soon." He frowned. "You know, I've always wondered about that. What if Rin chose a human? She's immortal, like us. Any human she chooses will grow old and die and she won't have a gray hair on her head."

"I've thought about it too," said Kagome. "But Rin almost exclusively knows youkai so perhaps we have nothing to worry about. And if she does choose a human, well, a lot of demons are these days."

"Yeah, but I've noticed that the ones that have already lost their human mates haven't repeated the process," said Washi. "I don't want my sister to go through that."

Kagome looked over her shoulder to the back seat, where Satu was sleeping soundly. "I don't want any of my babies to go through that." She turned back to the road. "Another left up here."

"I _know_, Mom. Do you want me to start telling you about Daichi's girlfriends coming up here?" He smirked as she squealed and clapped her hands over her ears. "I guess that's a no."

The hanyou glared at her son. "A definite no."

Washi gave her a guilty smile. "Right. Sorry." He turned left and smiled as the familiar woods of his childhood home began to appear. "I'm always surprised by how much I missed this place. I don't remember how nice it is to be here when I'm not actually here."

"I know what you mean," she murmured, staring out the window. "I always think that I'm home at the penthouse until I come here."

The enormous stone wall appeared in front of them, the wall that had once separated Kagome from a god's army. It was worn down now. The stone was softening, although not cracked or crumbling. And the gate, enormous and iron, stood in the center, looking the same as it had been five hundred years before. The only change was the stone guardhouse with the bulletproof glass right in front of the gate on the side of the road.

Washi scowled as they rolled up. "Where are they?" he murmured, seeing no one in the house.

"We didn't call to say we were coming up. And it's too early for anyone that thinks it might be a public park," said Kagome. She waited until they came to a complete stop and got out, leaning back in to smile at her son. "I'm sure it's nothing. I brought the key to the guardhouse and I can call the staff on the intercom."

"Alright," he said slowly, looking behind him.

She closed the door and walked around the car to the guardhouse to peer in. Unlocking it, she walked into the five by five room and to the intercom. "Hello?" she called as she pressed the little red button. There was no response. Kagome frowned and went back outside. "No answer. There wasn't even static. Shouldn't there be static?"

"Yes," Washi replied, getting out of the car. "Stay with Satu. Do you remember the code for the gate? Without the guard… well, I'm not sure I remember it."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, it's nine-four-three-six-one-one. Your father says it's the number of demons he's killed with only one arm. I don't know why he counts that sort of thing. Seems like a rather low number actually. For him at least."

"Dad is really morbid," muttered her son as he went inside. A few moments later, the gates began to open, creaking as the old and new metals met and rubbed up against each other.

They drove in slowly, making their way down the streets not built for cars. Sesshoumaru had insisted that the grounds be kept the way it was five hundred years before, with the exception of some electricity and modern plumbing so that he could have his morning coffee and the kids wouldn't complain. Kagome looked at the ancient shrine in the middle of the city as they passed, remembering her days there after the war. She prayed to the sun goddess who had helped them in the fight, so that Amaterasu would know that Kagome continued to appreciate her.

"I should give an offering," said the hanyou, nodding towards the shrine. "It's been awhile since we've been here last."

"Yeah," replied Washi, not listening at all. He looked over at her. "Mom, this is getting a bit too creepy. I don't like it."

Kagome frowned. She didn't want anything to be wrong. If something had gone wrong in the City, she was afraid of what that meant for her, Sesshoumaru and the children. "Alright, stop the car," she said. "I'll look in on the shrine."

Getting out of the car she took a deep breath. The scent of a few dozen demons came to her nose, but it was stale. Perhaps, she thought with hope, they've just skimmed off work and went to Tokyo. Sesshoumaru would be furious, but it would at least mean everything else was fine. Walking into the shrine, however, Kagome instantly knew that her son's instincts had been correct. The caretaker of the shrine was lying spread eagle on the stone floor. There was no blood, but a cushion normally meant for kneeling visitors was partially over his face. He had been smothered. The scent of the paralyzing poison was hovering over his body and Kagome guessed that it had been injected this time, when he was caught unaware. He was probably the first victim. She hoped he was the only one. The cold look of surprise and desperation on his face was too much to bear in the holy place and she walked out again.

Washi was sitting in the car, one window rolled down. "So what's going on? How's the old geezer?" he asked.

"Dead," she murmured, causing a look of panic to flash across her son's face. "Take Satu and go. Get your father."

"Get in then," he said, shifting the car into drive. "Come on, Mom!"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I can't. I'm calling the Demon Squad."

"You can do that on the way back!" he retorted at her. "You have your cell phone! Call when we're on the road again!"

The hanyou set her jaw. "I told you that I can't. The body is fresh."

"Then they're still here," her son argued. "We can't stay, Mom!"

"I have to! There are other people still here, Washi!" She pushed closed the door as he tried to get out. She couldn't have him dragging her into the car kicking and screaming. He had to understand. "I have to help them get out, darling. Please. Please, just go. The baby needs to be safe. She's the most important thing."

She hadn't called him 'darling' since he was a kid. The eagle demon frowned but nodded. "If you aren't careful, if you get hurt… Dad will lose it. You can't die."

"I won't. Please," she pled. "Leave."

He rolled the window up and circled around the shrine, speeding up immensely towards the still open gates. Kagome took off in the opposite direction, towards her old home, where most of the caretakers resided. If even one of them was alive, she had to find them. She couldn't smell blood yet, and that gave her hope for their safety.

The courtyard of her beloved castle was a blur as she ran in, nearly cracking open the doors in her haste. Pausing only briefly, she followed her nose towards the kitchen. Something was cooking, but when she arrived, she was sickened to see that the smell of meat was the hand of her chief caretaker, Botan. He was lying upon the countertop, his eyes wide with surprise and his hand sitting atop the stove, being cooked at a low setting. Kagome turned it off and looked at her old friend. Again, the scent of the poison wafted to her senses, but she couldn't tell what had killed him.

A soft footfall attracted her attention and she pressed herself against the wall beside the doorway. Someone was walking along the corridor nearby and they were trying to be quiet about it. She began to wish for Sesshoumaru and his infallible nose. He would know what intentions this creature had for her.

As the steps came closer, Kagome realized that she didn't even have Tetsusaiga, that she had sent it off with Washi and Satu. When the shadow fell across the doorway though, the hanyou didn't hesitate to dart out and pin the person to the opposite wall.

"Oh, please, don't hurt me!" squealed the female demon.

Kagome released her from her hold. "I recognize you," she said. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Have you seen anyone strange around?"

The girl nodded. "These men – humans, I mean – came into the servants' quarters as I was leaving out the back. They shot another girl, I think. She was screaming and then it got quiet. I didn't know what to do! There were some people in the streets. This was the only place I could get to."

"Alright," said Kagome. The girl was shaking, on the edge of being in shock. The hanyou spoke slowly and clearly. "Now this is very important. Do you know if they're still in the castle?"

"I… I don't know. I'm so sorry!"

Kagome put an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright. Do you know of anyone else here?"

"The guards… I went there first. There was a lot of blood."

The hanyou began to realize how young this girl was, probably only a few decades older than Midori. "Okay, we're going to get out of here, but you have to listen to what I say. And keep close to me."

The girl nodded a few too many times to be normal and, when Kagome began to move, grabbed her hand desperately. The hanyou said nothing about it and began to move through the hallways, stopping to listen and smell the air every few moments. No one except the dead demon in the kitchen seemed to be nearby, but Kagome could not shake the feeling of being watched. She supposed it was the natural reaction to such an unusual situation. She wasn't accustomed to being hunted by humans. She had almost forgotten how silent the castle could be when battle was looming over her head.

The pair soon reached the back garden door. "Stay here for a moment," said Kagome, having difficulty getting her hand apart from the girl's. "I'll be back in a few seconds." She smiled reassuringly and opened the door to look around. The garden was quiet. No one was sitting atop the wall. Most importantly, she could see the now overgrown door to the barracks. It was the path to freedom, she was sure. "Alright. Come out."

The girl stepped out into the garden, her hand reached for Kagome's once again. "Please?"

Kagome smiled gently and stretched back for a moment before her eyes widened. The girl's chest had the bright red point of light on it, moving with her heart as she moved. Her battle instincts kicked in and the hanyou began to push the oblivious servant back into the castle.

The hiss of a bullet whispered through the air and ripped through Kagome's bicep before slamming into the girl's chest to the left of her heart. The hanyou dragged the gasping servant back into the castle. "Oh Kami-sama," she muttered, looking at the wound. It was bubbling with blood. They had hit her lung. Kagome could either apply pressure in an attempt to save the girl's life or she could run for her own life.

She got down on her knees and pressed the heel of her hand onto the wound. It wouldn't work. The lung would collapse. It was the type of wound that she had never learned to take care of because Sesshoumaru always said it was hopeless. "I swear that I'm getting that medical degree sometime," she told the choking girl. The blood was seeping into her lung, drowning her in her own fluids.

The door slid open behind her and Kagome turned, keeping her weight on her hand and one knee as she kicked out at the intruder, hitting him neatly in the groin. He looked like a mercenary, in Kevlar body armor and weighed down with two guns and a knife. The man groaned and fell to the ground, only to receive another swift kick in the face. He was out cold, but Kagome could smell more coming.

Her own blood was running down her arm in a steady stream, but she had to ignore it. Half dragging, half carrying the servant, Kagome managed to get into one of the rooms that even Sesshoumaru had no use for. No furniture to hide behind and no other exits. It was a perfect place to get trapped hopelessly, but the girl couldn't travel any farther. Her demon healing was going just fast enough to keep her bound to life, but Kagome knew that it would lose soon enough to modern technology.

Her hand was swimming in blood, despite all the pressure she was applying. Pulling out her cell phone with her free hand, she saw that it was predictably receiving no signal. There was never a signal in the castle. Kagome complained about it, but Sesshoumaru just told her that it was an appreciated break from the constant calls during the workweek. "Moron. Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she muttered, staring at the phone.

She could hear whispers in the hallway, coming ever closer. She could smell the poison on their bullets. A door was opening down the corridor. A second later, another door opened, one that was closer. Kagome's heart began to hurt. Looking down at the servant girl, she shrugged. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do, really. There's more of them this time." She smiled sadly. "If I must die, at least I die in my home."

The girl closed her eyes, although her breathing continued. Kagome could hear her heart pumping furiously, trying to make up for the loss of blood into her lungs. She was losing her fight quickly.

The door opened at the other end of the room and five men stepped in with large automatic guns. Kagome looked at them. "Why are you doing this?" She watched as one of the men walked towards them, halting at the servant girl's feet. "She needs help. I'm not getting up," she informed him.

He lowered his automatic, letting it hang in one hand. With his other, he pulled out a pistol and shot the girl through the forehead. Kagome screamed and went for him, but stopped when he pointed the gun at her own head. "I won't miss, monster, no matter how fast you might be."

"I'll kill you," said the hanyou. "You have no right to desecrate my home like this."

"Quiet, demon," spat one of the other men, making an angry movement with his gun.

Kagome glared at them. "If you're going to kill me, you'll never get a better chance. And I'm not afraid of death, so stop trying to intimidate me."

"Oh, look, she takes after her freak husband," said the tallest one, smirking.

"You know nothing about him," snapped the hanyou. "And we're not the ones that go around killing innocent bystanders for the hell of it, so I'd be careful with the name calling."

The youngest man stared at her wounded shoulder. "She's bleeding, cap'n. Should we do something?"

"No," said the apparent captain. It was the man who had shot the servant dead. "She'll be bleeding a lot more before we're done with her. What's the point of fixing her up, if we're just going to make her bleed again?"

Kagome glanced at this man who had shown concern for her, when she had almost forgotten she was injured herself. But his eyes were hard and there was no kindness in his face. He was only concerned with how he looked to his captain. "I'm not afraid of torture either," she said. "I've endured pain that you can't imagine."

"She's a hero," sneered the captain. He nodded to the tall one. "We're done here."

Four of the men trained their sights on her, locking her into her corner of the room. The fifth, the tall one, pulled out another gun with a transparent chamber. She could see the bullets inside of it. They glowed slightly with green phosphorescence. Taking aim, he cocked an eyebrow at Kagome. "It's pointless to run," she said. "So I won't. I won't humiliate myself."

The tall man smirked and shot her, hitting her in the thigh and forcing her to fall hard. "Like I said, a hero," said the captain as he watched. "How idiotic."

It felt as if fire was going through her veins. Kagome sucked in air through her clenched teeth. Her vision began to swim and her head throbbed. She could feel her heart go into a frenzy. Her claws buried themselves into the floor as the pain rippled throughout her limbs.

Then the numbness started to spread. It was as if she was being dipped into a freezing stream and being pushed underneath the surface against her will. Two of the men came forward as her breathing became labored. As she tried to get away from their treacherous hands, she was horrified to discover that she couldn't move at all. She didn't want them touching her!

"Take her to the dungeon," ordered the captain.

Kagome closed her eyes, the only movement still afforded to her. She remembered her one night in the dungeon five hundred years before, when she had insisted to be placed there for her own safety, as well as the safety of everyone else in the kingdom. That had been a bad night, but at least she had been trying to help Sesshoumaru in the war. This would be a long night, even if they just left her down there.

The largest of the men picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Kagome could not even protest. Her vocal chords had shut down. She could only made a soft sound of disgust as she found herself face to face with the man's backside.

"Like that, monster?" sniggered the man. "You know, you're not bad looking. Perhaps you'll get a chance with a real man instead of that white-haired freak."

"Lieutenant! You will keep a sensible tongue in that mouth!" snapped the captain. "No one will touch her! She is a demon! Tainted! If you want to keep your soul you'll keep your hands off of her!"

The large man looked at his commanding officer. "But captain… she turns human once a month. And look at her!"

"Would you really lower yourself so deeply?" he retorted. The rest of the men were looking at the offending man with horror and disgust. "The beauty you _think_ she possesses is only a mask for the ugly distortion of her soul. And let me just be clear. If you do give into her demonic tricks, the general will be the first to hear of it and he will be even less pleased. In fact, he will hear of this as well."

"Please, sir. I didn't mean it." Kagome could see him shaking, but could not feel it.

"Your orders stand, lieutenant! Take the monster to the dungeon. You two, accompany him. Keep your weapons on the creature. Every demon reacts differently to the poison." He smiled. "Better be quick about it. She's bleeding a lot."

Kagome closed her eyes again. She couldn't feel the blood seeping from her two bullet wounds, but she guessed that they must have been bleeding profusely by the tone of the captain's voice. She could only hope that the paralyzing agent didn't stop her accelerated healing as well. As it was, her mind was becoming cloudy.

They carried her through the castle, to the black door that led down to the dungeon. Guards lined the way down to the deepest level, the level that probably hadn't had a good scrubbing in centuries. Kagome sourly mused that if she didn't die from blood loss that she would die from some disease she caught down in the depths of the castle prison.

The lieutenant deposited her unceremoniously on the floor in one of the middle cells. Kagome's blood dripped off his Kevlar armor. She could only lie there, on the slimy ground as he laughed and locked the cell door behind him. Her vision was beginning to go black as her wounds spilled out more viscous liquid.

"The general will be arriving soon. Your City is ours now," said the large man. Kagome made a hissing noise as she tried to snap back at him, but he only laughed again. "Sesshoumaru? Is that what you're trying to say?"

"The general will take care of him too," said one of her other escorts. "And your children."

Kagome had no power to protest as her eyes slid shut.

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A/N: It's a bit shorter than usual, but I couldn't give away too much and still have substance for the fifth chapter. I hope you like it! Please review! I answer them!


	5. The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The Broken House of Taisho

Chapter 5: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

_Kagome walked through the field slowly, smiling at the early blooms. It was so nice that winter was over. The warm sun radiated its joy at its return to Japan after so many months hidden behind the clouds. The hanyou shielded her eyes and looked around. There was no road save the dirt path used by a rare traveler. There were no power lines or any hum of a generator. The City of the West stood in all of its ancient glory on the hilltop as she meandered through the tall grass. She came to a small knoll and paused. The grass was much more lush here and buttercups dotted it with their yellow petals. "It's beautiful here," said a voice behind her, although it didn't startle the hanyou._

_Standing up, she turned to face her previously unseen companion. "Yes," she replied, smiling. "I was wondering when I would see you again."_

_The lady with the golden and copper colored hair smiled in return. "I told you that it would not be for a very long time. Were you expecting me sooner?"_

_"I would never presume to know what a goddess should do with her time," said Kagome._

_Amaterasu laughed softly, sounding like the chiming of church bells far in the distance. "It is true that I hesitate to show myself to you. I only revealed myself to you last time when I felt it was absolutely necessary. And even then, you had already defeated the evil god you call Amatsu."_

_"You helped us, even when we didn't know who you were," pointed out the hanyou. She gave the goddess a pretty little curtsey. "Please, Amaterasu-sama, are we in danger again? Do we need the help of a goddess one more time?"_

_"I'm not really here, Kagome," said the glowing divine being._

_Kagome looked around. "This is my home. I know that. So why do you say that you're not actually here with me?"_

_"You're not here either, little one," she replied gently. "This is a dream. This is the City as you remember it best, as you see it in your heart. In reality, you are bleeding on the floor of your own dungeon, taken prisoner by humans who have invaded this sanctuary of yours." Her kimono was fluttering in the breeze that she was claiming did not exist._

_The hanyou nodded, remembering her true situation. "If I'm dreaming, then how do I know that it's really you, Amaterasu-sama? No offense meant, but my mind has played many tricks on me over the years."_

_The goddess shrugged. "I can't answer that. If I am a dream, I would simply be lying. If I am truly Amaterasu, I am telling the truth but you could never believe me entirely." She sat down on a large, flat stone nearby. "I can tell you that it doesn't matter whether I'm here or not. Why shouldn't you trust your subconscious any less than a sun goddess?"_

_"The sun goddess is infallible," said Kagome immediately._

_"And so, if I am wrong in what I tell you, I am a dream. If I'm right, I'm a goddess. It doesn't matter either way."_

_Kagome sighed, but nodded her agreement. "Very well. Why are you here then?"_

_"Because I am sworn to protect the youkai population and if I do not help you here, then much would be lost. These humans who have captured you are vicious. They have no concern for the wellbeing of their country or world. They only want what they believe is best for them. They ignore the fact that the youkai are essential to this world," said the goddess with a serious shake of the head. She smiled coyly suddenly. "Or perhaps, I am just your subconscious trying to tell you how serious this situation could be."_

_"This is the first time I have seen you in five centuries, in or out of my dreams, so I am leaning towards the former explanation," said the hanyou._

_Her companion smiled more naturally and stood up. "That is your choice, of course."_

_"May I ask what you wanted to tell me, goddess?"_

_Amaterasu began to walk across the knoll and stopped in front of Kagome. Placing her hands on the hanyou's shoulders, the divinity closed her eyes, but not before a single tear escaped. It fell down her cheek and onto the ground, immediately giving birth to an exquisite flame colored rose. "Oh, my Kagome," she said softly. "You are dying."_

_Kagome felt her chest tighten, but remembered the heavy flow of blood from her injuries and realized that they had gone untended for a long time. Of course, it was possible that her gunshot wounds would not be the reason for her death. "So I will die in my home," she murmured. She blinked and locked eyes with the beautiful goddess. "Is there anything that can prevent this from happening?"_

_"Fate is not written in stone," her companion said, smiling again, albeit sadly. "You have the power to change it, to remold it to your wishes. We gods have not taken away a person's free will. Not entirely. I hope that you will finish the long and successful path laid in front of you. But you are at a crossroads and one choice leads to death."_

_"You won't tell me what choice it is that I have to make," Kagome said softly._

_"I didn't even say that it was your choice at all," replied Amaterasu. "I will say one thing, however. Do not refuse your power. The evil god once tapped into that power and it scared you. But you are above that now. You have deeper bonds. Remember that."_

_The hanyou bowed deeply. "I will try my best, goddess," she said. When she straightened up, the divine creature was gone and Kagome was alone in the field once again._

She woke up on the slimy floor of her dungeon cell. Her clothes were stiff with her drying blood and it was caked upon her hands. Her wounds were still bleeding, but much more slowly. Her demon healing was still functioning and Kagome knew that these injuries would not be the cause of her death. She could even move again.

Dragging herself across the floor, Kagome hoisted herself up onto the moldy cot that stood on one side of the cell. Leaning back against the wall, she tried to catch her breath. The dream had been strangely coherent, she decided as she inspected her thigh. Perhaps it was Amaterasu. Even if it wasn't, her warning of death was very real and Kagome was determined to see that it didn't happen.

Realizing that the bullet was still in her leg, the hanyou carefully ripped her pants away from the wound. Clenching her teeth, Kagome pushed her claw into the bullet hole and fished out the offending piece of metal. As soon as it was in her hand, her jaw loosened and she let out a sharp scream that bounced off the walls. "Mother-," she began to mutter.

"Mom?"

Kagome paused in the middle of her rude word and turned her head. Someone was moving in the cell opposite from hers. The figure came to the bars and into the firelight from the lanterns. "Washi," she said softly. "Oh, no… How did you get captured?"

He wrapped his wings around his body. "They shot out one of the tires to the car. I was lucky to keep it on the road and upright." He frowned and lowered his head. "They have Satu also."

"Oh, good Kami-sama," the hanyou swore. "Your father is going to kill me for letting all three of us get captured. After the mall incident, I'm not sure I would blame him either."

"I would not be so sure," said another, familiar, voice.

Kagome leaned over and looked to small part of the cell next to Washi's that she could see without moving from her cot. Sesshoumaru was standing there against the wall, his tail draped through the bars. He was in a business suit in desperate need of a dry cleaning and had dropped his concealment spell.

"I think it would be a bit hypocritical of me to judge you for this," he said, looking at her with his golden eyes.

The hanyou gaped. "I can't believe this. You too?"

He nodded once. "Rin and Midori as well. I do not know where they are. Certainly not here with us. I decided to go to work with the girls and the humans ambushed us in the garage. They knew that the gasoline and oil fumes would impair my sense of smell. They shot me with some sort of dart and I ordered the girls to surrender." He saw his mate raise her eyebrow at the word. "Yes, surrender. Midori is already injured and Rin only has the strength of a human."

"I think that you did the right thing. I was just surprised to hear such a concession of power from you," she replied. She looked at her mate and son and frowned. "That's not really fair. How is it that you got a dart and I got a bullet?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I do not know. Are you able to walk?"

She held up the bullet that had been in her thigh minutes before. "I will be able to soon enough now that this is out." The hanyou paused and studied her cell. "I suppose that you've already tried to escape?"

"The walls are as solid as they were when my ancestor built them, the days when youkai were powerful beyond words," he said tonelessly. "They have reinforced the doors as well. And there is something else, something akin to the dungeon you found me in five hundred years ago. As soon as I awoke in this place, I found that my concealment spell had faded. That had not been my choice."

Kagome twisted her body to face the wall and splayed her hand on the ancient stone. "It's not spiritual power. The dungeon you were kept in before was blessed by a powerful miko. I could feel her aura in that place. But this is dark magic. I can't even purify it because it was by a human hand." She looked at her mate with a joyful sort of pain. "I remember finding you in that dungeon. I couldn't believe that you were so filthy and in such pathetic condition, but you still had the audacity to be a smart ass."

"I remember being so hungry that I was willing to consume you," he replied.

Her mouth dropped open. "You never told me that."

He shrugged. "You never asked and I did not feel the need to tell you. There is no suitable response to such information," he argued.

"Well, I'm glad that I upgraded my status from 'potential dinner' to 'mate and mother of my children'. I prefer that one myself," she replied.

"As do I," he murmured.

They looked at one another and suddenly, their fight about the company, Daichi and their lives in general was over. Although metal bars separated them, Kagome felt her heart warming to his presence. "We've been a bit ridiculous," she said, smiling.

Sesshoumaru nodded once. "Events went out of control. We were wrong to blame each other."

Kagome ached to fall into his arms, to be alone and to be able to kiss him. And although he appeared to have his mask of indifference, she knew he wanted the same. She sighed and decided that their after-fight ritual would have to wait. "What about Daichi?" she asked, now not afraid to mention her son's name.

Sesshoumaru shook his white-haired head. "I have not heard from him, but I have also not seen any sign of him in the castle. I am hoping that he is unharmed."

Kagome took in a deep breath and they stared at one another. "He'll be alright."

"He is a taiyoukai's son," replied her mate, getting another smile.

Washi cleared his throat. "Um, not to interrupt this Hallmark moment of yours, but I think someone is coming down the stairs."

The mates turned their heads and, as if you've suddenly noticed the person next to you has been snoring loudly on the plane three hours into the flight, they heard the heavy footfalls of a man approaching their dungeon level. The door opened and he appeared the frame, with the stronger light of the stairwell torches making him a figure of black. As he stepped into the hallway, Kagome could see that this was a formidable creature, as far as humans would be concerned. The three of them, if they had no bars blocking them, would have been able to rend him apart in a matter of seconds, but still, he was impressive. Standing at least six feet tall, his shoulders were broad and his dark complexion gave him an air of ferocity. He was not wearing Kevlar like the men now standing behind him, nor was he carrying a gun. He had a tailored pinstripe suit on and a large grin plastered upon his face. "Greetings, demons," he said. "How are you faring?"

Kagome's son bared his teeth. "Where are my sisters?"

"The females are my guests," said the man. "I saw no reason to imprison a human girl, an infant and an injured demon child. They are resting now."

"So you have drugged them," growled Sesshoumaru. His hands tightened around the bars as his knuckles turned white. "You have no honor."

The man's cheerful exterior morphed into anger for a brief moment before he smiled again. "Honor. What a strange word to come from you, Lord Sesshoumaru." He saw the demon raise an eyebrow. "What? Did you believe that no human was aware of your former title? Even humans have long memories, demon. Ah, but I have not introduced myself and given you my title yet. I am General Basho Hama."

Sesshoumaru and Kagome looked at one another. "A false title to lead a false army," intoned the dog demon, speaking to his mate but wanting to be heard.

The man called Basho narrowed his eyes. "I assure you, this army is very real, as are our bullets. Demons will fall thanks to me."

The mates rolled their eyes. They had heard such confidence before among human enemies. "Why exactly are you targeting the Taisho family?" said Sesshoumaru, already weary of the bad habit that humans had of speaking too long of themselves and their virtues.

"You are of special interest to us," said the general, "but we will eventually kill you all."

"And Rin? She's human. How could you ever wish to harm her?" asked Kagome.

Basho's dark eyes glittered with malice. "In some ways, she is the worst sinner of you all. She chose to be a part of your family, to be a human among filth. Why should she live when she chooses to fraternize with the most vile creatures to walk this earth?" He smiled at the hanyou. "Of course, we are aware that you made the same choice. Quite a gripping story, really, to hear of you losing everyone you cared for and then becoming a half-demon like your dead lover."

Kagome had lived too long to be bothered by mention of Inuyasha anymore. She remembered her time with the hanyou fondly, but she considered him to be her childhood sweetheart. Sometimes, she thought of it almost like a charming dream and her life had really began the moment she had made that choice, that wish on the jewel to become a half-demon. "It was a good choice," she said simply.

"I'm sure you believe that," he replied. "It is because of that choice, of course, that you are of special interest to me though. So perhaps it wasn't such a good choice after all. Either way, you will pay for it."

The hanyou got to her feet slowly, the pain still sharp in her thigh. It had stopped bleeding but the hole in her flesh would take several days to fully heal. "I fail to see how my life has any bearing on yours whatsoever," she said evenly, leaning against the cell door. "You're a child to us. Your life is momentary compared to ours. Any harm we have done to you is unintentional because, frankly, humans aren't valuable to us. We have the knowledge of ages and you… you'll be dead before my youngest child looks to be a teenager, and that's assuming that you won't die in this dungeon today by my hand."

Basho glared at her. "Are you trying to sound superior?" he asked, disbelief lining his face. "You have nothing over humanity, and especially not over me. I will cleanse this world of your kind and I will be revered for it!"

Kagome didn't even have to look at Sesshoumaru to share her thoughts with him, that this 'General' was already beginning to crack. He was as mad as she had expected him to be. It was rather disappointing actually. Sanity obviously left people before they attacked the Taisho family and she wished that for once, she didn't have to listen to an egomaniacal speech before being able to kill the enemy. "Why exactly do you need to destroy all youkai?" she asked. "Other than the fact that we act superior, have no honor and we're filth," she added. "Those are all rather vague reasons, you see."

"You need other reasons?" he asked, jerking his chin up proudly. "Very well, I shall give you the best reason of all. You slaughtered my family!"

He did this with a dramatic flourish and finger pointing and Kagome frowned. Was she missing something here? "We have not harmed a human physically for at least a century, so you are mistaken," she said. Her mind crawled backwards in time and reaffirmed her words. Sesshoumaru had killed a persistent thief in the late 1800s when the human repeatedly tried to break into their home. After that, they had been left alone.

"Do you think that just because you are wealthy and famous that you have no secrets in your past?" Basho demanded. He was beginning to appear wild-eyed, red seeping into his gaze. "I know your shame!"

"My only shame is that I have been forced into my own dungeon and that I must listen to you," snapped Sesshoumaru. His golden eyes were icy. "If I did kill your family, it was a grave error on my part not to kill you as well."

The general was still for a moment and then gave a cry, lunging forward.

"Stop!"

Basho pivoted almost gracefully towards the origin of the voice, a newcomer standing in the doorway. It was a feminine figure, but Kagome could not see the woman's face because of the back-lighting. "I told you to stay in the upper parts of the castle," the general seethed.

"Why would I do that?" the woman purred. "You so clearly need me here to help you keep control of yourself. Don't forget our plans." Her head turned to the other men, the ones with the guns and Kevlar. "Leave us."

Kagome frowned deeply. She recognized the voice. It was one she had heard a thousand times, she was sure, but she could not place it. Sesshoumaru, on the other side of the path, had moved his glare from the general to the newcomer and was bristling with anger. "Sakura," he snarled.

The hanyou looked at her mate with wide eyes and then turned back to the door, where Sesshoumaru's secretary, the supposedly dead snake demoness, was stepping down into the softer light of the cells. She smiled at her former employer. "Sesshoumaru," she murmured, purposely dropping the honorific, "how I have missed you."

"This is impossible," choked Kagome, finally finding her voice. "You're dead and he hates demons! How can you be here?"

"Who did you think was giving him all of the information regarding your perfect little family?" asked Sakura, turning her brilliantly cold green eyes to the hanyou.

"Machi," she muttered, almost automatically.

Sakura laughed and Kagome realized that the severe secretary was actually quite a bit more beautiful than she had ever given her credit for. "Ah, Machi… that poor creature," replied the demoness. "She would so love to be the one to destroy you all. She and I became quick friends and she told me simply everything about your lives, everything that she knew. Unfortunately, she's just a bit too dimwitted to ever catch on that she could never destroy the Taisho family. Hell, she was too dimwitted to realize that her _friend_ was just using her."

"You had all the information you needed," said Kagome, growing angry and trying to keep it in check. "You were Sesshoumaru's assistant. How could you have any more access to our lives?"

"Your professional lives, certainly," replied Sakura, "but Machi provided me with information I never would have found in your files. How interesting it was to me to find that the beloved mate of Sesshoumaru was so hated in the beginning. And I must say, quick work on your first son!"

The taiyoukai growled softly. "These are all matters of little importance," he said. "Even Daichi knows that he was conceived before his mother and I became mates."

Sakura tossed her acid yellow hair over her shoulder. In the faded light, it appeared flaxen. "Ah, but imagine my great joy when I heard about the slayer village."

Kagome furrowed her brow, trying to remember. Yes, the slayer village, she recalled. She had needed food and had no choice but to go into a village of demon exterminators to find some. They not only hated demons, but all creatures that willingly associated with them. She had been found out and Sesshoumaru and Washi had had to come to save her. It was the first time she had ever seen the taiyoukai use restraint. He could have killed them all, but walked away, leaving them unscathed. "What about it?" she asked.

"Kita and Danjuro!" cried Basho, coming to life again.

"The two villagers that began the attack on my mate," said Sesshoumaru. "I met them in the forest and killed the man. The woman was killed by the god for giving me information."

"Exactly," said his former employee, licking her lips with relish. "But you left their three children alive. All I had to do was find one of their descendents."

Kagome passed a hand over her face. "All of this is about two people Sesshoumaru killed for hurting me five hundred years ago?"

"Basho, Chie and the baby, who died without her mother," said the general suddenly. "Basho! I was named after him. I am strong like him." He was rocking back and forth on his heels ever so slightly and clutching his hands together, rubbing them obsessivly.

Sakura gazed at her accomplice with a pitying softness. "General Basho began to receive visions of his ancestors after meeting me. He gathered the other descendents, as many as he could, and with others that hated youkai, he formed an army. He has been such a good boy." She went to him and cradled his face in her hands. He curved in on himself a bit, making the demoness look even more powerful, her tall frame overtaking his. "Are you having another vision, my dear?"

Basho was shaking violently, finally crashing to his knees in front of the demoness. "Basho! Chie!" he cried out before falling silent. Staring into the distance, he sat on his haunches with his mouth slightly open.

The snake demon moved away and gave Kagome a self-satisfied smirk. "You've given him hallucinogenic drugs," deduced the hanyou. "Did you steal them from the company?"

"Why work for a pharmaceutical company if you can't reap some benefits?" she replied.

Kagome looked away from her betrayer. "I understand his reasons for this. He's insane and you've simply pumped him full of drugs and ideas that his suffering is because of Sesshoumaru killing his ancestors five hundred years ago. But I am at a loss as to why you would ever behave this way, Sakura. We have done nothing but give you a good job and friendship."

"Stop trying to sound like some blameless saint," spat the snake youkai. Her unattractive features became more prominent as she frowned at the hanyou. "You killed my son."

Kagome paled slightly as she met Sakura's eyes again. "So everything is about vengeance tonight, is it?" she responded after a moment. Coldness had gripped her heart to think that she had harmed the child of someone she cared for – whether that care was deserved or not – but she could not allow emotion to cloud her mind. Let that be her adversary's problem.

"It is how I gained the trust of a human that hates all youkai," she replied, motioning to the still quiet general. "We have more in common that you would believe. He needed me to hear the truth of his family. I needed him because I couldn't raise a demon army against the precious Kagome-sama and her tough love mate. What a perfect pair!"

"If I killed your son," said the hanyou quietly, "your business is with me alone. You've made a spectacle out of our lives when you should have come to me personally."

"Kagome has never killed outside of battle," said Sesshoumaru, an accusing glare in his eyes. "All youkai recognize the right of protecting one's own life in combat."

The hanyou saw that her mate doubted Sakura's reasons and she looked at the demoness in expectation. No one was as skilled as Sesshoumaru when sniffing out lies and deception. But Sakura tossed her head and gave him a steady glare. "He died on the fields outside of this castle, in the great War against the god. He was with the Southern armies." She turned to look at Kagome. "What does it matter that you killed him in battle? Wouldn't you seek revenge if someone killed your son?"

Sesshoumaru still appeared unconvinced, but Kagome nodded. "Yes," she said truthfully.

Sakura shifted on her feet, the first sign of any emotion but her cool indifference so far. Taking a deep breath, she went to the general and lifted his chin. "I believe it's time for the children to be reunited with the parents," she said softly. "Will you get them?"

Basho nodded mutely and got to his feet. Shuffling off to the doorway, he only paused for a moment, his hand on the latch and looking back at his accomplice. Receiving a catlike smile from the demoness, he went through and began to climb the stairs, his footsteps echoing through the corridor.

"So you're going to kill us here?" said Washi, his green eyes meeting hers. "Are you such a coward that you won't let us fight for our own lives?"

Sakura scoffed and turned away. "I have no chance against any of you. I have the presence of mind to realize that. Don't think you can goad me into loosening your chains either. This may be rather unfair of me to do it this way, but if I let you out, that would be unfair to _me_."

"What do you want us to do? Tie our hands behind our back?" snapped the eagle demon.

"Enough, Washi," murmured Kagome. "We've said enough to her. She's not worth any more of our time." The hanyou steadied herself against the wall as she hobbled back to her cot, ignoring the fire in her captor's eyes.

Watching her former employer sit down gingerly and begin to inspect her bullet wound again, Sakura began to tremble with anger. "Saint Kagome!" she spat. "Always proper and good and kind, even to her enemies. You disgust me. Kami-sama, just your personality alone would be enough for me to kill you! Everyone has been tricked into believing this act of yours too. I think that's the part that sickens me the most. Even Sesshoumaru looks at you differently. I lost any respect I had for him when I realized he didn't see you for the monster you are!"

The hanyou leaned her head back against the wall, not caring if the slimy film got into her hair. "I think you're the big actress here, Sakura," she replied as her eyes slid closed. Blood was pounding in her ears from the exertion of just moving to her moldy bed. "I know I'm not a saint. Sesshoumaru certainly knows it too, but neither of us had figured you out. So I wouldn't really be speaking of being false."

"Accusing me of hypocrisy, are you? I was disguising myself. You just ingratiate yourself to everyone that you can manipulate a cent, a business, a _territory_ out of." Her green eyes flashed to the silent taiyoukai. "I can't believe you fell for it. You know they say that she knew that she was fertile the night you _accidentally_ conceived Daichi."

"Forgive me, but I trust my mate, not them," he replied smoothly, not missing a beat.

Kagome gave him a brief, disarming smile before scowling at Sakura. "You're grasping at straws, trying to drive a wedge between us. That will never happen. Even beyond death, Sesshoumaru will still be my mate and our children will still be our children. We will join our ancestors in heaven and you will rot in hell." She gazed at her new nemesis with hooded eyes. "There was a time that I might have mourned that, when you were still a friend, but you're no longer the person that I knew and I cannot mourn for a stranger's evil soul."

"You don't know anything," hissed Sakura, her hands in fists and her shoulders shaking.

"I know that Amaterasu watches over us," said Kagome, arranging her legs gently into a meditative position and closing her eyes. "Now, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Sakura made a noise of rage as she watched the two males mirror Kagome's movements and slip into meditation as well. "Fine!" she snapped, throwing up her hands. "Do what you want now because in a few minutes your other children will be here and all of you will be slaughtered like pigs in a market. One by one, as you watch! Do you hear me?"

The silence was oppressive as the three captives ignored their jailer. Sakura paced down the corridor, glaring at each of them in turn with no effect. Finally, she retreated to the doorway, opening it and leaning against the frame to wait for her other prisoners. "I know your composure is just an act," she bit out. "I know that imminent death scares even _you_."

Her words fell flat and she turned back to her vigil, almost crying out in relief when she heard doors opening above. The sound of several men walking down the stairs echoed as they brought remaining children to the deepest level of the dungeon. Kagome finally cracked open an eye when she heard the soft steps of her elder daughters and smelled the baby fresh scent of Satu. Rin was tending to her baby sister, her features set into an expression of anger and dismay. Midori had the icy, indifferent appearance of her father.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru stood up and went to the bars as Washi kept an eye on the soldiers. The hanyou smiled softly at her daughters but didn't reach out to them. Sakura was watching carefully, staring at the place where her fingers were wrapped around the cell bars.

Basho entered the corridor last, completing the small regiment of twenty armed guards. He held a pistol loosely in his hand. His eyes were no longer crazed, although his hair was still a bit disheveled. Sakura placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "So, who first?" she asked him, her eyes flashing towards the four children and their parents. "Kagome dies last, we already decided that, but which of the children first? The eldest or the youngest? Or perhaps we should let them see their father die? I bet they've never even considered that possibility, that of their indestructible father dying with just a few well-placed bullets. What do you think, my dear general?" Without waiting for an answer she looked at Kagome. "Which would you have die first? Washi has been with you the longest but he is not a blood-tied child. Shall I kill the baby?"

"Kill Sesshoumaru first," she replied without hesitation.

Sakura's brow lifted in surprise. "Your mate? Well, I should have known you would want your children to live as long as possible, but I didn't think you would give your mate up so soon. You think you're sacrificing him or something? This isn't an exchange, it's a sequence of the executions."

Kagome lifted her chin and looked at her mate for a moment. He was calm, although his eyes were burning a hotter gold than usual. "Try to kill Sesshoumaru first and then he will kill all of you. Try to kill our children first and we will both kill all of you. No choice is better for you."

"And how would he escape the bars?" asked Basho, his voice rippling with laughter.

She shrugged and smiled foxily, her lips pulling back to show her pronounced canines. "It doesn't matter. He will escape and he will kill you. Getting out of difficult situations is his forte."

"Only when you have a goddess on your side!" screeched Sakura, glaring at the soldiers who were beginning to look uneasy.

"And how do you know we haven't got one?" murmured Kagome, her brown eyes glittering.

Sakura let out a strangled cry of frustration and pushed forward through the ranks. It was a large corridor with exceedingly large cells to accommodate monstrous youkai, but the soldiers had packed themselves into one end of the hall as tightly as possible. The snake demoness finally burst through and shoved Midori onto the ground, smiling briefly as the girl hit her injured arm upon the stones and yelped. Next to her, Rin automatically tightened her hold upon Satu, but her human strength was nothing against Sakura's and, to prevent her youngest sibling from being ripped apart, she let go as the demoness grabbed the baby. Rin was pushed roughly into the bars of Washi's cell and hit her head with a dull _ping_ of the metal. She slid down to the ground as the eagle demon rushed forward and reached through the bars to comfort his sister. Midori was in the middle of the hallway, out of everyone's reach. Kagome watched as Sakura clutched the baby against her chest. "_This_ is the first," she snarled.

Heat began moving through Kagome's body as the anger she had suppressed successfully came back with fervor. She reached through the bars, pressing her body against them as hard as possible, just to gain a few extra millimeters. There would be bruises soon enough, if she lived until then. She didn't even feel it as one of the soldiers brought the butt of his gun down upon her forearm. Kagome only growled as Sakura took a knife from one of the men and raised it. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome could see Sesshoumaru doing the same as she was, growling with a volume that would have made most youkai quail with fear. His eyes were bleeding red but she knew he could not transform in the magically imbued dungeon.

Had anyone been paying attention, they would have noticed that Satu was not making a sound.

Before Sakura could begin to bring down the knife into the heart of the infant, she screamed and dropped the blade. She tried to drop Satu as well, but the baby was holding onto her long tresses and the lapel of her suit with a fierceness that Kagome had never seen in a child under the age of ten. The blanket dropped away to the ground and the entire family saw that Satu was aglow with a brilliant pinkish gold. The smell of burning flesh came through the air and with a jolt, Kagome realized that Satu, her youngest child of only four months with three-fourths demon blood, was purifying the snake demoness. Sakura dropped to her knees and continued to scream.

Basho rushed forward, pushing aside the frightened soldiers and tore at Satu's grip until she came free. The baby fell the few remaining inches to the ground and landed safely on the blanket. Sakura fell backwards, gasping for air in Basho's arms. "I'm… I'm alright," she breathed after a few moments. "The brat didn't get a good hold on me."

Midori ignored her injured arm and darted forward to grab Satu, but Basho had the advantage of proximity and swept up the child before her sister could get there. Midori cried out in alarm, an unnecessary noise because Kagome was watching intently. She felt the heat spread through her limbs again and snarled at the human holding her infant. No words came out of the furious mother's mouth, only a piteous, raging howl.

Sakura had regained some of her strength and kicked out at Kagome's middle daughter, hitting her squarely in her already injured arm. Midori cried out again, but fell silent when the demoness's foot connected with her temple. Rin tried to go to her sister's aid, but she was still weak and could only crumple to the floor again.

Kagome fell to her knees, her chest suddenly not able to expand. Basho looked at her and picked up the knife that Sakura had let drop. "She's a monster, don't you see? More than any of you! She holds spiritual powers in a tainted vessel. She's an abomination!" he yelled at her.

Sesshoumaru was snarling like a tiger, clawing at the bars and not being able to even scratch them. Kagome sat in her cell, heaving as Basho lifted the blade. Firelight glanced off of the metal, displaying its sharp edge.

Time seemed to slow down and Kagome became aware of every sensation moving through her body as if she was just learning what sensation meant. The heat of her rage became a burning ache in her limbs and heart. Red bursts of color blossomed in her vision, almost painfully bright. Her wrath seemed to spread beyond her skin and into the cell, pushing up against the walls and out into the corridor. Her skin prickled and she stood up, barely able to keep her balance with the pressure building in her head. It felt as if she was aware of everything and anything in her immediate vicinity: the beat of her enemies' hearts, the miko powers that she never knew Satu possessed, the viscous anger of her mate.

Suddenly, something within her heart broke apart and she roared her frustration as ripples of searing power washed through her body. Basho had halted his assault on her child and was staring up at her. Kagome realized that the bars of her cell were bent and broken, barely clinging to their hinges in the stone walls, but it was a passing thought that mattered little. Her children's lives were still in danger and she felt the sway of this newfound power.

The soldiers were scattering, or trying to. Kagome swept them against the walls with a few swings of her hand, which had miraculously grown large and strong. Many of them were screaming with high-pitched shrieks, the sound of mice before being eaten by a predator. Kagome bent down and snapped one in half with a movement of her powerful jaws. Although most prey would mobilize in the face of the death of a comrade, the soldiers were cowed. Kagome killed them with a lazy ease before turning to Sakura and Basho.

Blood was dripping from her mouth as she looked at them. Basho still held Satu, but had lost the knife. Kagome had a momentary animalistic confusion about their shocked faces, but thought little on it. Blocked by her body, Midori and Rin were under her protection now, but the baby was still in danger.

Kagome let out a terrifying roar and batted at Sakura. She cried out and buried her acidic claws into the hanyou's paw. 'Paw?' Kagome thought dully before shaking off the pest. A small movement, but it threw the demoness into the wall, putting her atop the dead bodies of her army. She scrambled, finding no solid ground in the mass of blood and viscera. "Basho! Help me!" she called, tripping over the men.

The general trembled and offered up Satu, holding her beneath Kagome's nose. The hanyou took the baby and turned to gently set her down in the curve of Rin's body. When she looked back, Sakura and Basho were disappearing through the door and up the stairs. Kagome roared again and followed, her body barely squeezing through the frame. The smaller staircase hampered her movement, but she did not lose the pair's scent and when she emerged at the top of the dungeon, she saw their shadows fly around the corner.

Kagome loped after them, letting out deafening roar after deafening roar. She could hear Sakura crying in desperation and it fueled her to move faster. She was dimly aware that the hallways in certain places would be too small for her and she had to catch them before they got away.

The hanyou had a stroke of luck in that neither Basho nor Sakura knew the castle as she did. They had only explored the central portion of it, where the ceilings were high and the corridors were wide. The pair turned and Kagome gave a howl of predatory joy. They had a choice of two sets of doors, one to the grand throne room and one to the outside. Outside they would have no chance, but inside, they could at least keep an eye on her.

They barely closed the doors behind them when Kagome ripped them off the hinges and prowled into the room. There was only one other exit from the throne room, into a smaller space used for post-audience meetings. Basho and Sakura froze as she stalked across the hardwood floor, realizing that her slower gait meant that she was comfortable in her surroundings and confident of her success. Sakura grasped at Basho's suit lapels. "I can't die like this!" she screamed. "Do something!"

Basho took out a pistol he had been hiding in his jacket pocket and pointed it at Kagome's nose. His shoulders were square as he faced his enemy. Sakura slinked off behind him, making for the door to the other room.

He didn't have the opportunity to squeeze off a bullet. Kagome's eyes flashed as this double threat of being injured and losing her prey and bounded forward, flattening him to the ground in less than a blink. The gun slid across the ground, away from everyone. Basho was struggling beneath her paw, clawing at it with his ineffectual hands. Kagome simply pressed down on him until she heard the bones crack and he went quiet.

Sakura screamed, attracting Kagome's attention. She pulled at the door, but it was locked and she didn't have the presence of mind to knock it down. She was a fly, her screaming just a buzzing around the triumphant Kagome's head. Irritating, and easily gotten rid of.

Kagome leaned over and buried the tips of her claws into the snake demoness's torso, spearing her heart, stomach and liver with her natural blades. Sakura fell limp at once and Kagome pulled away, turning from the bloody sight without interest. Every other step she took left a bloody print upon the floor as she made her way slowly back towards the dungeons. A few unlucky remaining soldiers met their end as they scrambled through the hallways, terrified about the unknown entity in the castle and meeting her head-on. She could tell that some had escaped, but they were not a threat and so she did not pursue.

Turning the corner she was met with the sight of her family stumbling out of the darkness of the dungeons and into the well-lit hallways. They all stopped when they saw her, standing at the other end of the corridor and splashed in blood. Even Satu seemed to look at her with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward first. "I know you cannot speak," he said, "but I also know you will not harm us, Kagome." He gestured to the four children surrounding him. "Look, they are all safe. Come back to yourself now."

Kagome tossed her head, barely understanding the words he was saying to her. She growled softly, a warm growl meant to comfort and give confidence, but her children appeared uneasy and she stopped.

The taiyoukai held up a hand and disappeared into a room adjoined to the hallway. It was once used as a supply closet and had fallen into disuse, but a large mirror still stood in it. It had been a gift from a visiting dignitary and as soon as he had left, Kagome had thrown the hideous thing into the nearest pit where she would never have to look at it again. Sesshoumaru brought it out and wiped away three centuries of dust with his coat sleeve (the suit being ruined anyway). He walked forward without hesitation and laid it down in front of his mate. "See? Look at yourself," he said, pointing to the silvery surface.

She leaned over, really only curious at what he was pointing at. In the reflection, she saw a beast of unimaginable terror. A long brown snout protruded from between high set, thin cheekbones. Black eyes rimmed with red stared at her as her ragged dog-ears twitched. Streaks of red and black went through her brown fur, although it was difficult to tell what was her own coloring and what was blood. She was standing on her hind legs, with her massive paws swinging in front of her. A tooth as long as Sesshoumaru's hand peeked out of her jaws on each side and her pelt was filthy, as if she had been rolling around in sewage. If she had had her mind, she would have thought her image was not unlike that of a werewolf, albeit one of epic size. Her powerful muscles, thick around her tree trunk bones rippled as she crouched down and put her claws on the reflection. Her fifteen foot tall frame barely fit into the circumference of the mirror at the short distance.

She growled her discontent with the image. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Then change back if you don't like it," he said. When she looked at him again, he shrugged. "Remember things. That is how I do it. Remember what it's like to have a hold on your senses again."

Kagome shook her head again, slowly, as if she was trying to get water out of her ear. She let out a gasp of air that sounded like a soft _woof_. Images began to flash through her mind. Sesshoumaru was standing beside her, telling her that they were fighting for Japan and not one another. She was falling back against the pillows and being handed a small but healthy son, who was wailing heartily. Midori and Rin were braiding each other's hair on the carpet in front of the fireplace. She felt the safety, the joy and the amusement of these moments and hundreds of others in a few brief moments.

Her chest contracted and she curled in on herself. The silver glass was cool beneath her cheek. She could still taste and smell the blood that covered her, but it wasn't so pungent anymore. Lifting her head, she could see her own reflection in the mirror.

Sesshoumaru took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You will learn to transform with your clothes," he was murmuring before she was even aware of her nakedness. Washi had politely turned away, his wings coming up to shield him entirely. Rin and Midori concerned themselves with the baby. Sesshoumaru helped Kagome to her feet. "Midori, get your mother some clothes from the bedroom."

The girl nodded and went off, giving her parents an encouraging smile as she passed by. Kagome shivered a bit. Castles were drafty, even in the spring. Sesshoumaru's coat was long enough to cover the essential parts, but her legs were still bare. The taiyoukai gathered his mate against his chest, trying to share his body heat. He looked down when she began to sob into his shoulder. Rin and Washi appeared startled, taking a step backwards.

"Kagome, we are all fine," Sesshoumaru said. "Crying is not necessary."

She nodded and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "It was so _overwhelming_," she whispered. "And I love you all so very much."

Sesshoumaru stroked her ebony and crimson tresses as she clung to him. Rin and Washi stood silently, uncomfortable with the fact that they were intruding on what would normally be a private moment between their parents. Midori came back, restoring purpose to the family with the offering of one of Kagome's finer yukatas. She looked at her father. "They trashed some of the rooms. They didn't get to the East wing or your study, but there's some major repair work to be done."

"Then we will do it," replied the taiyoukai, glancing over at Kagome. "But later. For now, we must call the Demon Squad and then go home to rest."

The hanyou nodded her agreement. Words seemed to be too much of an effort at the moment. She retreated to an empty room to change and then joined her family in the front courtyard, where they were waiting for Detective Ito. The sun filled the yard with crystalline, golden light, making the granite benches warm and soft. Kagome nestled down next to her mate and accepted Satu from Rin. The fresh yukata felt like heaven against her roughened skin. It bathed her in relaxation. Her bullet wound was still sore, but she successfully ignored it. She stared down at the face of her little daughter and pushed back a strand of fine blond hair. "I always assumed that the blond would grow out," she murmured, "but I think that our child might have golden hair."

"It is possible," said Sesshoumaru. He peered over his mate's shoulder to the swathed infant. "She is a miko after all."

"She is, isn't she?" Kagome asked, her eyes widening. "I never thought there would be another priestess in the family. Not from me anyway. I always thought my brother would pass it on, but that our demon blood would cancel it out."

Sesshoumaru nodded, thankfully not displeased at the thought of having another powerful priestess under his roof. "We will get her proper training in time."

They fell silent. Rin braided Midori's hair in loose plaits while Washi dozed with his wings wrapped around him. Kagome shifted so that she was in Sesshoumaru's lap. If he was surprised by her unusually intimate move, he didn't say anything. She made sure Satu was secure and happy before laying her head on her mate's shoulder. It would only be a short time before the whine of a siren woke her, but she savored this moment of peace and fell asleep.

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A/N: One more chapter and then it's done, kids. Review, review and review more!


	6. Settlement

The Broken House of Taisho

Epilogue: Settlement

Sesshoumaru entered the room with two cups of coffee, closing the door gently with his tail. Setting the mugs down on the bedside table, he leaned over his sleeping mate. Her bandaged leg was sticking out from under the covers. His keen sense of smell told him that it was healing well, but he already knew that. He smirked as he remembered Kagome's boundless energy the night before. He would never admit it but making up with her after a fight was the closest to heaven he ever got. The taiyoukai lowered his head and nipped at her mating mark, which was fully exposed by the gentle tilt of her head.

She moaned and shifted on the bed. "No fair," she murmured. "You know what that does to me."

"If you wake up to hear my news, I will stop," he replied, going back to his favorite place on her body, the part that marked her as his own. Kagome always accused him of being animal and possessive when he said this, but she had a sort of pride in her voice about it. She liked it as much as he did.

A few minutes later, her brown eyes opened and she smiled sleepily at her mate. "Morning." She sat up and gave him a light kiss. "Fresh coffee?"

He handed her one of the mugs while taking his own and watched her as she sighed in contentment and leaned her head back against the bed frame. "There is something in the paper you may want to read," he said.

She opened her eyes again. "Is there? About what happened in the City?" she asked. Although Basho and Sakura had died forty-eight hours before, the papers hadn't mentioned anything the day before. Detective Ito had called to say that it was being taken care of, that they had found the general's headquarters in Tokyo, along with rosters of his mercenaries and diaries filled with his insane obsession with the Taisho family. He had practically written his own confession. Kagome and Sesshoumaru would not be charged with anything.

Sesshoumaru pulled out the newspaper front page that he had tucked into the back pocket of his sleeping pants. He rolled it flat and put it on Kagome's lap. _Another Taisho Tragedy Strikes_, screamed the headline, giving Kagome a deep sense of foreboding. As she read the article, however, she saw that it was much more pleasant than the last one about the mall incident. The poor Taisho family, just wanting a bit of peace and quiet, had retreated to their private property outside of Tokyo when they discovered that a gang of criminals had broken into their house. A mentally unstable man called Basho, who believed that the Taisho family had hurt his in some way, led the gang. The police found damning evidence at Basho's home, indicating that not only was he responsible for the attack on the Taisho's private property, but the murders in Tenseiga Tower and the assault in the mall upon Mrs. Taisho and her daughter.

It was an apologetic article, as if it was speaking directly to Kagome and begging forgiveness from the powerful hanyou. She looked up at Sesshoumaru. "But are they just going to forget about all the stranger aspects of the story? Like me going demonic at the mall? Or the fact that I squished Basho into a pancake? Or what about Sakura's supposed body in the office? Even I want to know how she faked her own death like that and produced a body."

"Well, remember that this is a demon held paper that you're reading. The human papers say the same thing, but they sound much more suspicious." He frowned deeply. "We will have to be careful. They know something is odd about us and we will be watched closely for awhile yet."

Kagome sat back. "Not exactly a perfect ending, is it? Sakura was wrong. We're not going to have our life completely back."

Sesshoumaru shrugged. This didn't seem to bother him nearly as much as the thought of discovery did. "The police are giving out that you experienced an extreme adrenaline rush in the mall and they're not releasing any details about the bodies in the City. No one will know that Sakura was impaled by claws or that Basho's entire rib cage was flattened."

"And the body in the office?"

The taiyoukai stood up and retrieved Kagome's robe from the closet. "The medical examiner went back and finally did the autopsy. You know how snake demons in the same family look remarkably alike, especially in demonic form. It turns out that what was supposedly Sakura's body was her cousin's. It was also the only body that had older traces of poison. Sakura must have paralyzed her kinswoman, taken her to the office and killed her there while the other murders were being committed. We would have known earlier if hadn't been such a close relative, but their scent was very similar."

She drained her cup and slipped into the robe he held for her. "Thank you," she said, their hands lingering on each other. She handed him his half-full mug and they headed downstairs. "I still can't believe that Sakura did all of this. Killing one's own kin? Her own family would have killed her in punishment for that. She took a lot of risks."

Sesshoumaru nodded his agreement as they went through the living room and into the kitchen. Midori and Washi were already there, exchanging stories about how hard they fought before Basho had taken them. "Well, you know, I did have Satu with me," he was saying. "I couldn't do much."

"I have an injured arm."

"I was in a car. No room."

"Dad told me to not fight. It's not my fault. You're the one with more training after all."

"Swords don't really stand up to sniper rifles."

Kagome shushed them. "Where's Rin?"

Washi bit into a jelly covered English muffin. "Satu woke up early. Rin's changing her. She'll be down in a few minutes."

The hanyou frowned. "Rin hit her head the other day. She should be resting."

"Even the doctor said that it was nothing more than a bump," said Midori, rolling her eyes. "Stop worrying about her, Mom. She was really good, you know? She sat there and just let those guys say all those horrible things while Dad was knocked out. I got mad, but she said that I just had to ignore them. They got bored after awhile. Then they drugged us too, but that's beside the point. She can take care of herself."

"Thanks, Midori," said Rin sincerely, from where she was standing in the doorway. Satu was sitting happily on her hip and Kagome got a pain in her chest when she remembered that her eldest daughter was in love and would probably soon have kids of her own. "Mom, did you read the paper?"

"I did," replied the hanyou. She smiled at the picture accompanying the story, a family portrait they had had done right after Satu was born. As it was fairly recent, Kagome still liked the outfit she was wearing in it. "I feel a lot better now."

The doorbell rang and Sesshoumaru went to get it as his mate began to prepare Satu's breakfast. "It's my brother," said the taiyoukai, reentering the kitchen. Kamlyn, Kagura and their baby, Hoshi, were in tow. The doorbell rang again and Sesshoumaru growled lightly in annoyance as he turned right around.

Kagome gave her brother and sister-in-law a hug each and pressed a kiss to the top of her nephew's head as Ginta and Hakkaku came in. "Nee-san!" said Ginta, hugging her tightly. Hakkaku remained silent but gave Kagome a quick embrace and smile.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked, as they all sat down at the table after Washi fetched some extra chairs.

Ginta shrugged. "We wanted to check up on you and the kids, nee-san," he said. "Oh, and we wanted to tell you that we were digging through Sakura's emails. They go through the network hub in the building and after the cops were done with it, we got the leftovers. Sakura and Machi were talking to each other a lot, you know."

Kagome nodded and sighed as she put her chin in her hand. "I know. Unfortunately…" She paused and grimaced. "I think Machi is innocent on this one." Her children and Kagura at the very least looked shocked to hear these words. "I know, I know. She's a bitch and she wanted Sesshoumaru for her own. And oh yeah, she wants my business and has taken my job, but she was just being gleaned for little tidbits about our lives. She wasn't working with them."

"Well, as long as you know," said Hakkaku uneasily. "By the way, she fired us over the weekend. Can you fix that?"

The hanyou stared for a moment and then laughed. "Yeah, Sesshoumaru can handle it. I don't believe that she thought she could get away with that, even if Sesshoumaru was a bit busy."

"There's a lot of cleanup to be done around here," said Washi. "The City, the company. It's a mess and even if she didn't act directly against us with the whole murder spree thing, Machi has certainly done her work well."

"We'll take care of that. All of it," said Kagome. She looked at Kamlyn and Kagura, who were patiently waiting for their news to be heard. They had never been so quiet in the centuries she had known them. "What about you two? What do you need to tell us?"

Kagura pulled out a folder from her oversized bag. "Sorry if it smells like baby wipes," she said, handing the thick packet over to the hanyou. "We just thought you'd be very interested in this."

Kagome flipped it open as Sesshoumaru leaned over her shoulder. It was full of documents and copies of ancient manuscripts. "A census?" she said, paging through the largest portion of the contents. It was a census of the Southern youkai population. She shook her head. "I'm afraid I've never been much good at the lizard demon dialects," she said. "What do they say?"

"Well, basically, most of it is unimportant," said Kamlyn. "But we went through it. Or rather, the interns at the news station did. But they found something interesting. See here?" He leaned over and pulled out another stack of papers tucked at the back of the folder. "This is the catalogue of who died in the war against the god. Now, it's not very interesting unless you're looking for a name, like the name of snake demon's son."

The hanyou stared at him for a moment. "You found Sakura's son? In all these names?"

Kagura shook her head, picking up the narrative easily as long-term couples tend to do. "That's just it. The census takers of the South were meticulous. If only I were so lucky as to have such good notes! They categorized every family by their clan. There were only three snake families in the Southern territories. Most snake youkai lived in the West actually. But none of these families had sons. And none of them lost anyone to the war. They were new immigrants, see?" She pointed to a symbol beside the youkai names. "That means they were the first generation there."

"So Sakura had no son."

Kamlyn shrugged. "Doesn't look like it. We found her birth record. She was born in a small Western town and lived an uneventful life as far as we could tell. If she ever got a mate, there's no mention of it."

The hanyou closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "It's good news that I didn't kill one of my former friend's children, but then I'm even more confused as to her behavior. What could make someone do all that against people who love her? She killed her cousin for Kami's sake!"

"Maybe she was delusional," suggested Washi, shrugging. "Basho was, why not her too?"

"Maybe it was the allure of power," said Sesshoumaru.

"Maybe it was love," Rin murmured.

Kagome looked at her daughter. "What do you mean? I've never seen a more hateful act."

Rin sighed and stood to rinse out her milky bowl. "Well, I never told you because it seemed unimportant at the time, but Sakura was in love. I was delivering something to Dad and she asked me what a romantic restaurant was. I told her a few places that I liked to go and she was practically grinning. I just thought it was sweet at the time. Maybe she was in love with Basho and it was him that she was taking to dinner." She turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. "I mean, what would you do in that situation? You're a youkai and you fall in love with a human who hates youkai more than anything. So you empathize with him, tell him all about how you were wronged by the same family as he was."

"But we have no indication that Basho knew anything about the youkai population before he began speaking to Sakura," argued Washi.

She shrugged. "It's just a theory. I'm just saying that love can be quite powerful and sometimes you lose your head. Or your sanity."

"She was awfully _tender_ with him," said Midori, making a face at the memory. "And the youkai population is pretty large in this city. There's bound to be humans that know about us. More than we'd like to think, I'm sure."

"We'll probably never know," said Kagome. "I wasn't exactly in the position to ask her before I sliced her apart."

Kamlyn tapped his claws on the table and fixed her with a curious look. "You're going to have to tell us about that transformation sometime in more detail, nee-san. I mean, I've never even been able to do that. The girls said that you looked like a terrifyingly large werewolf. You were in a dungeon that should have prevented any demonic abilities too. What happened? Do you think you can do it again?"

Kagome remembered her dream, her talk with the sun goddess. She was privately convinced that it had been Amaterasu contacting her and that it was the bond between mother and child that had broken the magic barrier around her hanyou blood, but she would never tell these wild theories to anyone besides Sesshoumaru. Even he would be skeptical, considering his scientific mind. Then again, he had expressed confidence in her ability to do it again. "I don't know," she replied. "I think that it'll be rare occurrence, if it is ever repeated."

"We will explore it," said Sesshoumaru.

"A lot of mysteries still surrounding this whole thing," sighed Kagura, her journalist mind clearly unhappy with the loose ends.

"I think I can deal with that," said Midori, "considering we're all still alive and not riddled with bullets. I would have haunted Sakura's fat ass for the rest of her life if that had happened!"

"Language!" warned Kagome, pointing a finger at her daughter while the rest of the family laughed.

There was a noise in the hallway and Sesshoumaru turned his head sharply. "Um, hello?" said a young male voice.

"Daichi!" cried the hanyou, nearly knocking her chair to the floor as her son appeared in the doorway. She gave him a crushing embrace, which he readily returned. "We were so worried. We had no idea where you were and the police were looking for you! What happened? Are you alright?"

He nodded as she pulled away and began checking him for injuries. "I'm fine, Mom," he said, catching and stilling her hands. "I was at a friend's house. I didn't hear or see anything unusual. I only knew what happened because they were talking about it this morning on the radio. I came over as fast as I could. Are you all alright?"

"We're fine," said Kagome, gathering him into another hug. "Sit down, sit down. You want breakfast?"

"No, I had breakfast with my friend," he said. He looked at his siblings uneasily, waiting for a backlash for making his mother worry, but it didn't come. They all smiled happily at him. Washi gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder and vacated his seat for his little brother. Finally, Daichi looked at his father.

Sesshoumaru gave his son the smallest of nods possible, pleased that he was unharmed. He sat down in Kagome's place, right across from his prodigal son. His mate would be in too much of a flurry to settle down again. "A female friend," he said. "A human?"

Daichi swallowed. "Um, yeah." He scratched at the back of his neck. "I met her about six months ago, at one of those coffee shops. Our orders got mixed up. We um, started dating."

"That would explain the copious amounts of cologne you've been wearing lately," his father stated evenly, much to the amusement of the others at the table.

"Yeah, well, we got along really great but I knew that you wouldn't like it much. I know how you feel about humans. Except Mom's family, of course. So when you forbid contact with humans, I just kind of got… angry." That was the understatement of the year and they all knew it, but allowed it to pass. Daichi gave his father a weak smile. "Funny thing, she turned out not so great. I mean, I was there for two days and she started in about how much time I spent with my family and how I should be on my own. She'd been saying it all along actually, but I guess I just heard it more clearly then. She wanted me to forget about you guys. And she didn't even know what I was, how important family is to youkai. I realized that we weren't going to work out. My stuff is in the car."

Kagome, her back to her guests as she toasted some bread, was listening carefully and smiled. Her son wouldn't know the heartbreak of marrying a human, and certainly not a human that believed in the separation of a family. She turned around and looked at Sesshoumaru. "Well, I think he's suffered enough then, don't you think, dear?"

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly. "A human," he said again, shaking his head and pouring himself some cereal into a clean bowl.

"Hey, it's not like I was dating a guy three hundred years older than me," said Daichi, laughing and easing back into his old laid-back self.

Kagome looked up sharply and saw Rin glaring at her little brother, her cheeks flaming. She looked as if she was about to renege on her forgiveness. Daichi paled a bit. "Um, you haven't told them, then?" he said softly.

"No!" hissed Rin.

"You did know then!" cried the hanyou. "I knew it!" She looked triumphantly at the others at the table. Sesshoumaru was staring at his daughter with an unreadable expression. The others looked amused. Ginta was barely able to keep from falling out of his chair with suppressed laughter.

Sesshoumaru got to his feet very quickly, this time actually flipping the chair onto its back. His eyes had moved from Rin to Hakkaku, who Kagome could barely see sitting beside Ginta. She moved three feet to the left and saw that the same blush that adorned Rin's cheeks was painting his as well. "Oh my Kami in heaven," she murmured.

"You?" said Sesshoumaru, his voice soft and dangerous.

"Daddy, please," begged Rin, standing too. She hadn't called him 'daddy' since she was thirteen in human years. "Don't be mean."

The taiyoukai's blazing golden eyes were wide as they turned back to his daughter. "Mean?" he asked, in the same sotto voce as before. "I believe that is last thing that he has to worry about."

"Sesshoumaru," said Kagome, stepping forward. She could feel his rage emanating off of him and clearly, so could the wolf brother. He was standing up, so slowly that he was barely moving. In the wild, the wolf had advantage of its tame cousin, but Sesshoumaru was no lap dog and Hakkaku knew it. "Sesshoumaru, Rin has the right to choose who she wants."

"He had a _mohawk_," snapped the taiyoukai. "He has no job!"

Kagome held up her hand. "Which is Machi's fault and which you will fix. And the mohawk is long gone, you know."

"Have you forgotten that his clan killed you?" he growled at his daughter.

Rin rolled her eyes. "No, Dad, I haven't forgotten, but it's also been about five hundred years since then. If I can get over dying, I think you should too."

There was a flash of movement and Hakkaku was suddenly pinned to the wall. Rin screamed and pulled at her father's shoulder. Her brothers and Ginta were on their feet, but unable to do anything. Kagome placed a hand on Washi's arm, silently telling him to sit back down. She walked over to her mate, where he was snarling at the terrified, but outwardly calm, wolf. His behavior in the face of Sesshoumaru, the greatest killer alive, was commendable. "My mate," said Kagome, looking directly at the taiyoukai, "Rin will never forgive you if you kill him. And you will most certainly be spending a few months on the couch."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened and looked over at Kagome. "Months?"

"Months." She glanced at Hakkaku to make sure he was still breathing. "I don't really like it either, but remember that you're seven hundred years older than I am. Hakkaku has only three hundred on Rin. He's never had a mate, no children to take precedence over her. We know he works hard and that he is trustworthy. Really, how much more can you ask for?" She wagged a finger at him. "If you're going to act like this every time one of our children has a boyfriend or girlfriend, you're going to force them to elope. Missing my children's weddings because of you will also earn you time on the couch. Now release him and apologize."

"I do not appreciate your tone, Kagome," he replied. "I am Rin's father and…"

"_Release him and apologize_," repeated the hanyou, a dangerous glint coming into her eyes.

Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and stepped back from Hakkaku. "I apologize for my behavior," he said through his teeth. "Although if you hurt her, I will slaughter you slowly."

"Point taken," said the wolf, rubbing at his throat. He smiled uneasily. "And apology accepted. I'm sure I'll act the same way when my daughter has a potential mate in mind." He held up his hands at Sesshoumaru's soft growl. "Not that I'm going to impregnate your daughter any time soon, Sesshoumaru-sama! Honor is all important, of course!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Hakkaku, don't worry about it. He'll get over it soon enough." She hugged him and her daughter, before sizing them up. They seemed like a good pair, although she never would have put them together in a million years. Hakkaku was one of her oldest friends after all. It was strange, but when were youkai relationships normal, especially when one of the participants was actually an immortal human? "I would take his threat to heart though," she said softly, glancing at her still irritated mate. The phone rang and he got up to answer it in another room, a sign that he wasn't completely oblivious to other matters. It was a good sign. As soon as her father was out of sight, Rin embraced Hakkaku and pressed a kiss against his lips. Behind her, Daichi and Midori gagged silently.

Kagura let out a long breath. "Well, that was interesting. Are all of your breakfasts so entertaining, Kagome? We should come over every morning if they are."

The hanyou smiled. "Thank Kami, no they aren't," she said, heading back over to the toaster. The now cold toast was popped into the microwave.

Kamlyn strained to hear his brother's voice, but realized that he had gone into the study to talk. "Well, not to upset things further, and I certainly don't suggest telling it to Sesshoumaru at the moment, but Mom's got some news too. She and Makoto are going to become mates."

"Sesshoumaru mentioned that he felt something was going on there, actually," said Kagome. It had only been a few days ago that he had said anything, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

"The Ice Prince actually was aware of other people's emotions?" said Kamlyn, his eyes widening. "Wow, my big brother, knowing that people feel things. He's growing up. Changing right before our eyes!"

Kagome laughed as her brother-in-law pantomimed his surprise. Sesshoumaru came back in and narrowed his eyes at his sibling. "Juvenile," he muttered.

"Hey, we share lots of genes."

"Impossible," said Sesshoumaru. "You're a changeling."

"You're an oaf," retorted Kamlyn. This was all said with the ease that could only come from brothers having a mock fight that repeated itself constantly. Kagome sometimes thought that Kamlyn was the best thing to come out of the war, aside from her own attachment to the taiyoukai and the children. Sesshoumaru had needed a chance to redeem himself in terms of family. Even he would admit his failure with Inuyasha.

She and Kagura exchanged a glance and a smile that said that they were both thinking these things. Sesshoumaru came to her side. "It was the board that called," he said, immediately sobering her. He gave her a small smirk. "They want you back as president of the company. They have kicked out Machi and extend their apologies for their lack of faith. They wondered if you can start back on Monday."

Kagome threw her arms around her mate's neck. "Of course!" she squealed. Pulling back, she wiped at her eyes. "Oh, everything is turning out so well again!"

"The humans may know about us," said Sesshoumaru.

"Inconsequential," she said, borrowing one of her mate's favorite words. "They can think whatever they want. This is my life again and I'll be damned if they try to take it away from me!"

Kagura stood up. "Well, I'm happy for you Kagome-neesan but we have to get going. Your story has put us into overtime," she said, rolling her eyes. Hoshi begged to be picked up and she swung him into her arms. "Oh well. More time with the new intern." She winked at Kagome and sauntered out.

"Hey, wait a minute!" called her mate. He looked at Kagome. "Think you can make a subduing necklace for her?"

"She's the wind," laughed Kagome. "It wouldn't work."

Kamlyn smiled and shook his head, following his beautiful mate out the door. Washi stood up and put his dishes in the sink. "I need to get to the office and do some major work."

"Me too," said Daichi. He caught the shocked expressions on his parents' faces. "What? I thought I'd try the responsible thing for awhile. We'll see how it pans out."

"I'll take bets on how long that'll last," quipped Midori as she walked out. "I'm going to work on that math project with Jen down the street. Bye!"

Rin and Hakkaku looked at one another and then at Sesshoumaru, who was eyeing them with great distaste. "We're going to go now too," said his daughter. "Um, for a walk. In a public place. Lots of people! We'll take Satu with us." She dragged the wolf out of the kitchen.

Ginta gathered his brother's plate with his own and put them in the sink with the others. He smiled apologetically to his adopted sister and her mate. "The mohawk really _was_ bad," he said, before exiting.

Kagome laughed, the now empty kitchen echoing. An angry taiyoukai could clear out a house in as little as fifteen seconds apparently. "An enlightening morning."

"Indeed."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, tilting her head back so that she could still look up at him. "Oh come on, is it really so bad? Rin is happy. Daichi is home. I got my job back. Things could be a lot worse."

"Were you serious about being banished to the couch?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes," she said simply. She reached up and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "But I would be very sad about it."

He frowned a bit, although his grip on her tightened. "I have not been very good to you as of late."

She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest. "I know. But then, I haven't been very reasonable either." Kagome smiled to herself. "You did tell me that you loved me, in your own way. That's something that doesn't happen very often and I appreciated it, even if I was still angry at you at the time."

"After you left, Rin told me that I take advantage of your affections, that I expect to be treated well by my mate and that I should realize that I am fortunate to have such a mate that would not begrudge my lack of affection."

"Smart girl."

He placed his metal hand on the back of her neck and used his real flesh to stroke her spine. "I do not wish to lose you again. Your absence was _unpleasant_." He paused and shook his head. "No, that is not an accurate description. It was not just unpleasant. It was painful and I desired your return more than I have ever wanted anything."

Kagome looked up at him, her eyes glittering with surprise. "I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. Thank you." She kissed him again. "Does this new outlook on our relationship mean that you're going to say more things like that?"

Sesshoumaru appeared thoughtful for a moment. "For five hundred years I have not changed much. I have learned human business and given up my title, but my personality remains the same. I believe that I could possibly alter my mind a bit, in order to appreciate you properly. It is only fair that I accommodate you as you have done for me."

The hanyou smirked. "Well, if you want to try, I won't object."

"That is the answer I expected."

Kagome kissed him yet again, leaving her breathless when she pulled away. Five hundred years and he could still do that to her. Well, was it really a surprise? The first time he kissed her, they conceived Daichi. She smiled at the memory.

"Is something amiss?" he asked, seeing the little quirk of her lips.

The hanyou shook her head. "No, for the first time in ages, there isn't." She slipped her hands into his. "So come on, then."

He arched an eyebrow. "Where?"

"To the bedroom of course," she said, barely able to stop from giggling like a brainless schoolgirl. "You can _appreciate _me more there."

Sesshoumaru smiled one of his rare smiles and followed her out of the kitchen.

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A/N: I know it's short, but it's really more like an epilogue than anything else. I've really enjoyed writing _The Broken Miko_ and this sequel, but I'm done now. No more. I will be concentrating on _Thousandfurs_ for the next bit of time. I do have plans for another Kagome and Sesshoumaru story though. I have an outline and everything! It doesn't have a title yet, but just check up on me (or better yet, stay with _Thousandfurs_!) and you'll find it eventually. I love you all dearly. Thank you so much for the support you've all given me. Ciao!


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